« Cinema doesn’t lie »
 

Posted on 15.10.2023

In a sold-out and gleeful Halle Tony Garnier, the actor put on a show as a sometimes emotional, other times mischievous troublemaker, before declaring his love for cinema. To celebrate this 15th anniversary, we needed an exceptional guest, whose exemplary career and undisputed talent could rally an entire crowd to express an infectious and fervent desire for cinema.

With his legendary machine-gun delivery, eminent artist Fabrice Luchini opened the ball for this 2023 edition in his usual style: with a smile on his lips, accompanied by his verbiage, which was as discursive, enthralling and acute as ever.

"What you have achieved by showcasing geniuses is deeply moving... from Lino Ventura to Fernandel, from Fernandel to Ozu, from Bertrand Tavernier to Mastroianni... Tonight, we are almost spontaneously coaxed into a benevolent indulgence of the cinema, where an immense humanity restrains our aggressiveness so that we can become viewers of life," exclaimed Luchini. He then successively proclaimed his admiration for Guitry and Jouvet, his "Dalai Lama", as well as Clouzot and Bernard Blier, "the greatest French actor of all time". “These images that have just been shown reconcile us with humanity," he stated. “What I have experienced is something unique. I never thought it could affect me to this degree.”

Fabrice Luchini © Olivier Chassignole

In a Halle Tony Garnier packed to the rafters, some 5,000 lovers of the 7th Art joined him - and a host of guests in a joyous chorus comparable to a stadium of enthused football fans - to kick off the enticing marathon of screenings that will bring the city's cinemas to life over the next eight days. It will conclude on Sunday 22 October in Lyon's immense venue with a fitting celebration of the filmography of another giant, Wim Wenders, who succeeds Tim Burton as the latest recipient of the Lumière Award.

"Tonight, I understood what Johnny Hallyday experienced. For him, this must have been a tiny venue, whereas for me, the maximum would be a modest crowd of 800. But here, it's an insane 4,500… 4,500, live and in person!" joked the actor with a wide smile and laughter, before the auditorium was plunged into darkness to make way for the screening of the restored print of Sunset Blvd., Billy Wilder's masterpiece... "What is extraordinary about the stars of Cahiers du cinéma is that filmmakers including Rohmer, Truffaut and Godard immediately understood that Guitry was a genius. I'm overwhelmed by that kind of cinema because it is the spoken word that embodies the eternity of silence. In the film you're going to see tonight, you will see the extent to which Guitry influenced everything", he added.

Earlier, to great applause, and before his entrance had triggered a thunderous ovation, a wave of personalities from the world of cinema appeared on the red carpet of the Lyon venue to fill its ranks. Among them, Laurent Lafitte, Dany Boon, Daniel Prévost, as well as Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam and Karin Viard, special guests of this year's edition, were particularly acclaimed by the audience, who also gave a lengthy round of applause to this year's volunteers. The crowd was then invited to join in a giant karaoke session to sing Christophe's Aline, which Wes Anderson skilfully used in one of the most beautiful scenes in his movie, The French Dispatch. “Magnificent", commented the filmmaker, while his neighbour, Terry Gilliam, confessed to the astonished audience that he was not familiar with this classic French song.

© Jean-Luc Mège

"We have not forgotten the madness of our divided world. Long live peace and long live cinema", said Irène Jacob, President of the Lumière Institute, as she opened the ceremony, which included music by a brass band and a magical screening of previously unseen films by the Lumière brothers, freshly restored.

"In cinema, there's a marvellous, miraculous thing that makes it so you can't walk on your own two legs… the camera removes the physical effort which often means you can perform powerfully. Cinema can solve the miracle of capturing the being. There is no filmmaker who does not film an actor to paint his portrait. Because in reality, we feel that cinema is the place where the camera simply films the actor, but the actor is never just the man himself. Cinema doesn't lie, because it penetrates your soul", concluded Fabrice Luchini.

Benoit Pavan