On the one hand, Isabelle Huppert, muse of Claude Chabrol, Benoît Jacquot or even Michael Haneke, at the two Césars and so many international prizes.
On the other, Cate Blanchett, Australian actress with two Oscars, for
Aviator
(2004) and
Blue Jasmine
(2013).
In 2014, these two “sacred monsters” met on stage for the adaptation of Les
Bonnes,
a play by Jean Genet.
Seven years later, they find themselves on the stage of the 47th Cesar ceremony, which takes place this Friday, February 25, in the legendary hall of the Olympia, in Paris.
If it was Isabelle Huppert who presented her partner Cate Blanchett with the Cesar of Honor for her entire career, it is a mutual tribute that the two actresses paid to each other.
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“
My dear Cate
.
You alone populate the planet of cinema, this continent that you tirelessly explore, (...) but you are neither tenant nor owner.
You are too free for that, ”tenderly began Isabelle Huppert, in a flamboyant black dress.
And to continue: “Your freedom is what tells you best.
It allows you all the audacity.
You can play anything, a man, a snake.
You make us want to become the characters you play, you inspire us with these desires for freedom.”
In her long tirade, the actress of
Promises
also hailed the strength and extraordinary career of the 52-year-old actress.
And underlined the importance of his gaze and his eyes, sometimes "laughing, sad, candid, intelligent, naive, unfathomable, dreamy, wild... terribly human".
An ode to French cinema
But eyes also moved, and misted with tears.
Because after a hug and a long standing ovation from the public present at the Olympia, Cate Blanchett could not contain her emotion.
“I don't know if I'm crying because I realize how old I am …”, she quipped, before continuing: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
It's hard to talk about anything other than the situation in Ukraine, but we're here to celebrate cinema.
I would therefore like to express my thanks to the Academy.
It is a real privilege to receive this César from the hands of my friend Isabelle, who represents French cinema”.
Unsurprisingly, Cate Blanchett, a great admirer of the New Wave, but also marked by
A death row inmate escaped
by Robert Bresson (1956), wanted to pay tribute to the beauty and usefulness of the seventh art.
“I have always admired the ability of French cinema to be loved and celebrated nationally by its own audience,” she explained.
The actress said she was “struck by the influence” of it and by its creativity.
So many ideas that help “to understand the world and to change it”.
In 2021, the César d'honneur was awarded to Jean-Pierre Bacri, as a final tribute to the actor who died in January of the same year from cancer.