[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WipqAqQZOxQ[/youtube]
L'ENFER D'HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT: Other César Winners
Veteran Isabelle Adjani, 54, received the Best Actress César from the hands of Gérard Depardieu, who announced, "Ah, [the winner] is a friend!"
In Jean-Paul Lilienfeld's Skirt Day, Adjani plays a teacher on the verge of a nervous breakdown, having to deal with obnoxious, misogynistic students in a rough, immigrant-filled Parisian neighborhood. The teacher ends up taking matters in her own hands when her students ridicule and harass her on the day she shows up wearing a skirt in class. Her solution? Point a gun at them and hold them hostage.
Now with five César wins in the Best Actress category, Adjani has broken her own record. Her previous wins were for Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981), Jean Becker's One Deadly Summer (1983), Bruno Nuytten's Camille Claudel (1988), and Patrice Chéreau's Queen Margot (1994). Additionally, Adjani was nominated for The Story of Adele H. (1975), Barocco (1976), and Subway (1985).
After crying uncontrollably, Adjani managed to read her (very, very) long speech, partly reproduced here:
"I believe I've never been as moved as I am tonight because of this César. This César crowns the most modest role of my career and the choice of a film no one had been interested in. I'm very proud that my work has been recognized in such fashion."
"Film tests our conscience and the legacy we want to leave our children. For me that's a joy that goes beyond winning an award. … This film was a very small effort and I'd never have believed that it would have gotten this far within the industry and with the public. Everything is still possible for those films that are capable of creating a path for themselves, even if often no one wants them because they [have something important to say]."
After remembering her deceased mother, Adjani teared up again and got off the stage.
Skirt Day filmmakers had to fight to get their film screened at a few French movie houses. The Best Picture César nominee sold less than 60,000 admissions in its first two weeks, but was seen by more than 2.2 million television viewers when shown on ARTE, breaking audience records for the station.
Isabelle Adjani quote: Voici