To the sound of the Spanish model of “Lodge California” by the Gipsy Kings, Joel and Ethan Coen took to the stage of the Lyon Lumière Pageant on Friday night to obtain the Lumière Prize, celebrating 4 a long time of cinema with a sometimes irreverent tribute to the inventors of cinema.
“Because of the Enlightenment for inventing the digicam, in any other case we’d have been screwed,” Ethan joked, drawing laughter from the viewers.
The musical alternative itself was a nod to the Coens’ cult comedy “The Massive Lebowski,” starring John Turturro’s flamboyant bowler Jesus Quintana.
The star-studded gathering included Javier Bardem, Frances McDormand, former Lumière Award winner Wim Wenders, Robert Eggers, Michel Hazanavicius and Bérénice Bejo, Benoît Magimel, Antoine de Caunes and Caleb Deschanel, who got here to city for a masterclass and the premiere of Laika’s upcoming stop-motion animated function, “Wildwood.”
In accepting the award, Joel mirrored on 4 a long time of filmmaking along with his brother. “We did it as a result of we love cinema and storytelling,” he mentioned. “We’ve got, with a couple of exceptions, had nothing however enjoyable making these movies over the a long time.”
Bardem, who gained an Oscar for his chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh in “No Nation for Previous Males,” delivered one of many night’s most colourful tributes, recalling how he initially tried to show down the function regardless of being a longtime admirer of the Coens.
“I sat down with them in New York of their workplace and mentioned, ‘Look, I like you, I worship you, you are unimaginable, however I hate violence, I do not drive, and I barely converse English. What am I doing right here?'” Bardem recalled.
“They did not give me any purpose to make the movie. They had been simply laughing,” he mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘I do not know what this expertise goes to be like, however I do know it is not going to be hectic. So yeah, let’s fucking do it.'”
Bardem additionally joked about his character’s well-known haircut, which the Coens noticed in a Sixties {photograph}. “I used to be single on the time – it is 2006 – and I mentioned, ‘I’ll be single till the day I end.'”
Ethan had one other story about Bardem taking over the function. The actor had determined that his character needs to be pale, he recollects, so throughout the largely outside filming, a younger manufacturing assistant accompanied him on set, holding a light-weight blue umbrella over his head. “And he wonders why we made enjoyable of him,” Ethan joked.
The actor’s tribute took a extra heartfelt flip as he mirrored on what working with the brothers meant to him. “What they gave me was a masterpiece and the reward of a lifetime, personally and professionally,” Bardem mentioned. “They made a dream come true. Ten years after I mentioned it might by no means occur, it occurred. And it was even higher than I ever imagined.”
The night was additionally marked by musical tributes, with French singer-songwriter Bénabar performing Charles Aznavour’s “Parce que tu Crois”, chosen by Joël Coen as his favourite music. 5-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo carried out Jacques Brel’s “Ne me go away pas,” one in all Bardem’s favorites.
Pageant director Thierry Frémaux drew laughs by exhibiting images of the Lumière brothers and Coen in remarkably comparable poses, earlier than reminding the filmmakers that, in step with competition custom, they must shoot their very own model of the primary Lumières movie, “The Employees Leaving the Lumière Manufacturing facility,” on Saturday. After screening one of many unique variations, he gave them till the next day up with their very own model.
The tribute was additionally well timed with the screening of Ettore Scola’s 1997 quick movie “1943-1997,” which follows a younger Jewish boy fleeing a Nazi roundup in war-torn Rome and discovering refuge in a movie show. As 5 a long time of Italian cinema unfold on display, the boy grows older. The movie ends in 1997 with a younger African boy fleeing persecution in the identical theater, drawing a parallel between previous and current.
Bardem echoed the movie’s message, emphasizing its relevance at this time. “By no means once more isn’t once more for everybody, from Congo to Sudan to Palestine,” he mentioned.
Joël additionally paid tribute to the Lyon group of movie buffs and the competition’s dedication to the shared expertise of cinema, saluting the general public who at all times likes to “discover themselves in a darkish room with many different individuals and see it on the large display”.
Since their function debut with the neo-noir thriller “Blood Easy” in 1984, Joel and Ethan Coen have constructed probably the most distinctive filmographies in American cinema, starting from the crime comedy “Elevating Arizona,” to the cult favourite “The Massive Lebowski,” to the Despair-era musical odyssey “O Brother, The place Artwork Thou?” and the Western anthology “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”
Their 2007 thriller, “No Nation for Previous Males,” gained 4 Academy Awards, together with Greatest Image, Greatest Director, Greatest Tailored Screenplay and Greatest Supporting Actor for Bardem, whereas “Fargo” earned the brothers their first Oscar for Unique Screenplay in 1997.
Olivier CHASSIGNOLE
At Cannes, their exceptional journey started in 1991 when “Barton Fink” gained the Palme d’Or, Greatest Director and Greatest Actor for John Turturro. They then gained the perfect director prize for “Fargo” in 1996 and “The Man Who Wasn’t There” in 2001, whereas “Inside Llewyn Davis” gained the Grand Prix in 2013. In 2015, they returned to the Croisette as presidents of the competition jury.
The respect awarded Friday makes Joel and Ethan the second duo of filmmakers to obtain the Lumière Prize, after Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne in 2020. Earlier winners embody Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese, Catherine Deneuve, Wong Kar-wai, Jane Fonda, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, Tim Burton, Wim Wenders, Isabelle Huppert and Michael Mann.
The Lumière Movie Pageant ends on Sunday October 18.