When Spielberg received the Honorary César but lost to Four Weddings and a Funeral

Will Christopher Nolan experience the same misfortune this year?

On February 23, Christopher Nolan will be given a Honorary Caesar on the Olympia stage. He even has the opportunity to walk away with a second prize since his latest film, Oppenheimer, big favorite for the Oscars, is nominated in the César category for best foreign film. But he could also see another filmmaker win the trophy, as was the case with Steven Spielberg in 1995.

Christopher Nolan will receive an honorary César this year

That year, three cinema personalities were honored during the 20 César ceremony, Jeanne Moreau, Grégory Peck and, therefore, Steven Spielberg. The director, then aged 49, was at the peak of his career. He just broke the box office with Jurassic Park and triumph at the Oscars with Schindler’s Listrewarded with 7 awards, including best film and best director for Spielberg.

Receiving his honorary César from Claude Lelouch, Spielberg delivered a vibrant speech, paying tribute to the many French filmmakers who inspired him. He will also express his pride in receiving this prize.of a country that respects films and fights for its cultural identity“.

In addition to his honorary César, the American filmmaker is in the running for best foreign film. Competition is tough, with pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino, who received the Palme d’Or a few months earlier, Personal diary by Nanni Moretti, Short Cuts by Robert Altman and Four marriages and a funeral by Mike Newell. Before announcing the winner, Wim Wenders thanks Spielberg for his speech on cultural identity. But it’s definitely Four Weddings that appears on the envelope. The film producer, surprised to win against Schindler’s List, gets up. Spielberg can only applaud with fair play.

The great Holocaust drama is beaten by the cult romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. Luc Besson is hallucinating. “That year, we asked Steven Spielberg to come to give him an honorary César when he had just done Schindler’s List. And the best foreign film was Four weddings and a funeral. Just, there are things I don’t understand. I got up, went to apologize to Steven“, the French director recounted in 2014 to explain why he no longer voted for the Césars.

Spielberg will return to the stage twice to present the César for best director with Jeanne Moreau, then the César for best film with Alain Delon to André Téchiné (absent) for Wild Reeds.

Christopher Nolanwho also made a film about a major event of the Second World War by telling the story of the father of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, will he experience the same misfortune? In front of him, he will have Pick up by Marco Bellocchio, Dead leaves by Aki Kaurismäki, Perfect Days by Wim Wenders (well) and Simple as Sylvain by Monia Chokri. On February 23, we will therefore closely follow this category and Nolan’s reaction in the event of a possible defeat.