Gorillas in the Mist/Style Heroine: Sigourney Weaver special evening on Arte

The star actress from Alien and Avatar is the evening star on the Franco-German channel.

Gorillas in the mistit is the evocation of the life of Dian Fossey, anthropologist, who devoted all her energy to the study and saving of gorillas and who was brutally murdered on December 26, 1985. This drama, which has just celebrated its 35 years old, will be offered this evening on Arte.

In 1989, Sigourney Weaver was nominated twice for the Oscars: among the best actresses for Gorillas in the misttherefore, and in a supporting female role for a project of a completely different genre Working Girl. Two very different films, which she loved shooting in quick succession, even if she ultimately did not win either statuette: in this year of the triumph of Rain ManJodie Foster and Geena Davis were honored, respectively for The accused And Traveler in spite of himself. Two years earlier, she was already very proud to have been the first actress nominated for an Oscar for best actress for a science fiction universe, thanks to Aliensby James Cameron.

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Sigourney's reaction to this double nomination can be seen in the new portrait of the actress broadcast just after Michael Apted's cult drama, on Arte. The actress also confirms having been so touched by Dian Fossey's journey that she still defends her cause today, becoming the ambassador of her foundation for the defense of gorillas in Africa.

The particularity of this documentary entitled Style heroine is that Sigourney speaks at length, overshadowing the comments of other speakers whose analysis is not as relevant as hers: for example, we would have preferred to see Weaver expand more on her experience “made in France” In Ten percent rather than following the producer of the series, Dominique Besnehard…

Retracing the notable films of her career and her extraordinary image in Hollywood, the actress obviously dwells at length on Ripley, the heroine ofAlien, by Ridley Scott, who turned his life upside down. Thanks to her, Sigourney symbolized a new image of women, strong, determined, tall (she measures 1m82), then throughout her other incarnations, she also revealed more maternal or tormented facets of her personality. To the point of expressing his hesitations on the filming of the 4th opus ofAlienby Jean-Pierre Jeunet, which earned him this collector's comment from his husband, director Jim Simpson: “You think you can't do it? Ripley would be able to…” It was enough for Sigourney to overcome her fear of water and agree to shoot her own stunts while freediving, alongside Winona Ryder!

Style heroine is a fairly complete documentary, even if we can regret that the German director Bärbel Merseburger-Sill ignores several other key figures in her career: his dual role within the saga Avatar, for example, is barely mentioned, even though it allowed the actress to play a teenager in her late 70s; his parody character of Galaxy Quest could also have been integrated into the discussion, as it allowed him to have fun with a lot of self-mockery about his status as a SF star, victim of the gaze of his “fanboy”…

Halfway through, this portrait bifurcates, to focus more on the evolution of his looks or his humanitarian commitments. The film nevertheless illustrates the special place that Sigourney Weaver holds in the cinematographic landscape of the last four decades. Revealed to the world in 1979, when she was already 30 years old, through her career choices she knew how to maintain an important place in the hearts of the public, and continue to play interesting heroines past 40, 50 or 60 years old, ignoring of youthism reigning in Hollywood.

Sigourney Weaver heroine of style will be visible for free from today on Arte.tv, for three years (until June 4, 2027, precisely).

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