The Golden Globes on Sunday honored “Emilia Perez”, the unclassifiable work of Jacques Audiard, which notably won the prize for best international film, during a ceremony which for the moment crowns very diverse winners.
Halfway through the ceremony, the French filmmaker’s musical odyssey on the gender transition of a Mexican drug trafficker had three statuettes with a Golden Globe for best supporting actress, for Zoe Saldaña, brilliant as a lawyer kidnapped by the heroine of the film, and the prize for best song for French artists Camille and Clément Ducol, who composed the original soundtrack.
Jacques Audiard dedicated his Globe for best international film “to all those who feel worried today”.
“This award is addressed to them, as an exhortation to keep their heads held high, to continue to fight and hope for better days,” insisted the French filmmaker.
With 10 nominations, his film, awarded at Cannes and promoted by Netflix, however, did not succeed in being a hit, two months before the Oscars.
The French director was beaten by Brady Corbet for the award for best director, for “The Brutalist”, a long portrait of an architect who survived the Holocaust trying to start a new life in the United States.
“I am honored to be in such good company with filmmakers whom I sincerely admire,” greeted the American, receiving his prize.
– The Demi Moore sensation –
Awarded and very noticed at Cannes, the star of “Emilia Perez” Karla Sofía Gascón has not had the same success with Hollywood.
The transgender actress was beaten by the American Demi Moore, rewarded for her very committed performance in another French film, “The Substance.”
In this horrific fable by Coralie Fargeat, which does not skimp on the gore, the 62-year-old actress plays a former Hollywood glory addicted to a youth serum. A substance that generates a rejuvenated double of itself, with destructive impulses.
Demi Moore thanked the Frenchwoman for “this magical, daring, courageous, off the beaten track, completely crazy script”, which allowed her to finally be recognized during a major ceremony.
“I’m in shock,” insisted the actress. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve won anything as an actress.”
Comedian Nikki Glaser opened the evening with a barrage of good jokes, including tackling “Challengers,” a comedy about a love triangle with Zendaya.
“This movie was more sexually charged than Diddy’s credit card,” the rapper currently in custody on multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, she joked.
– “Less predictable” –
The Golden Globes have reformed in recent years, after the vast scandal revealed in 2021 on the corruption and racism of their members.
Their jury has notably become much larger and more diverse. The ceremony is “less predictable” and “certainly more international”, observes Pete Hammond, columnist at Deadline, for AFP. “They are more open to different genres of films.”
The drama categories, traditionally separated from comedies by the Golden Globes, also reflect this evolution.
The Canadian film “The Brutalist” thus obtained seven nominations. He is aiming for the prize for best dramatic film, but will notably have to get rid of the papal thriller “Conclave”, which won the Golden Globe for best screenplay early Sunday evening.
The stars of both films, Adrien Brody and Ralph Fiennes – brilliant as a cardinal embroiled in the Vatican’s shenanigans to elect a new pope – face off for the title of best actor in a drama film.
A race which also includes Timothée Chalamet, for his remarkable incarnation of Bob Dylan in “A Perfect Stranger”.
But this year, it is for actresses that the Golden Globes have the most importance, three days before voting for the Oscar nominations closes.
Already fierce on the comedy side, the competition is just as fierce on the drama side.
Angelina Jolie shines with her interpretation of the singer Maria Callas in “Maria”, Nicole Kidman impresses as a woman of power with troubled sexuality in “Babygirl”, and Fernanda Torres moves as a widow devoted to her children under the Brazilian dictatorship of the 70s, in “I’m Still Here”.
The Oscars, which do not separate dramas from comedies, will only select five actresses.
