From Cannes to the Oscars, the extraordinary trajectory of Anatomy of a Fall

“When we started writing Anatomy of a Fall with my partner Arthur Harari, we were in the middle of a pandemic, stuck in our apartment. While rehearsing the text, we remarked: “It’s way too radical and dark. It's too long, they talk all the time, there's not enough music, a couple fighting, a suicide, a dog vomiting. No one will go see this film,” exclaimed, stunned, Sunday evening in Los Angeles, Justine Triet. The French director had just won the Golden Globes for best foreign language film and screenplay. Sunday's Californian ceremony saw the filmmaker pose with Greta Gerwig and be applauded wildly by Taylor Swift. And in the role of the heroine’s lawyer, Swann Arlaud has become a sex symbol on social networks.

The opportunity to measure how far this trial film has come and to see to what extent the concern of its authors to see this X-ray of a couple adrift not finding its audience has proven to be erroneous. With 21.5 million dollars in revenue, including 4 million in the United States, the French and international box office of Anatomy of a Fall marks one of the greatest successes of the French seventh art. The Palme d’Or found its audience in France -1.3 million spectators- and abroad -1.6 million moviegoers. The triumph of the Golden Globes consolidates the chances of the Palme d'Or to reach the Hollywood firmament: the Oscars.

A stratospheric rise that began in May in Cannes under the palm trees, and already the controversies. This drama allowed Justine Triet to become, at 45, the third director in history to win the Palme d'Or. Coming to collect her prize, the winner takes advantage of the Riviera platform to cross swords with the government, in the midst of pension reform. And defend independent cinema against liberalism. Without the cultural exception, “I wouldn’t be here today,” she says.

“Ungrateful and unfair,” replies Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, like other right-wing officials who predict a public flop. The left defends the filmmaker, Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) even sees it as the symbol of a “resistant left”. French President Emmanuel Macron breaks with custom and does not send him any message of congratulations.

The debate flares up again this fall, when the independent commission of professionals, brought together by the National Cinema Center, responsible for selecting the feature film that it will submit to the Academy of Oscars prefers the culinary fresco Passion from Dodin Bouffant to Anatomy of a Fall. This costume film by Tran Anh Hung on gastronomy with Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel certainly received the Cannes director prize. But does not have the same sociological scope, nor the same echo. It will only bring together 200,000 moviegoers in France.

From there to seeing it as a sanction against the anti-government positions of Justine Triet, there is only one step that many commentators take. The members of the commission are suspected of having wanted to please their supervisory minister, Rima Abdul Malak. “What idiots they are!”, fumes the producer of Anatomy of a Fall.

But the Palme d'Or, distributed across the Atlantic by the powerful Neon which enabled Parasite to triumph at the Oscars, has not said its last word. Anatomy of a Fall is not eligible for the Oscar for best international film but nothing prevents it from competing in the general categories, as The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius did in its time. The aggressive campaign led by Harvey Weinstein - still all-powerful - allowed the silent and black and white film to garner ten nominations, and five statuettes including best actor for Jean Dujardin and best film and direction.

Anatomy of a Fall is on the rise in Hollywood and has been recognized by many regional critical circles (New York, Los Angeles, San Diego). Before the Golden Globes, there were Gotham awards, the National Board of Review. The springboard of the Golden Globes, where it was in the running for four trophies, suggests that the Palme d'Or can hope to duplicate these Oscar nominations and slip into the best film, original screenplay and best actress section for the enigmatic Sandra Hüller. The best achievement category seems more complex to crack. The answer will come on January 23.

This date could hold a second snub for the CNC if The Passion of Dodin Bouffant was dropped from the list of five contenders for the Oscar for best foreign film. France has not won since Indochina in 1992. For the specialized Hollywood press, the CNC is already well discredited. Variety called their choice “very lame.”

Aware that his silence was increasingly deafening and perceived as petty, Emmanuel Macron finally said a word of congratulations on Monday, a few hours after the triumph of the Golden Globes. The tenant of the Élysée risks having to write others. His former American counterpart Barack Obama did not hesitate to slip the Palme d'Or into the ranking of his favorite films of 2023.