Render Unto Caesar...

French film-making has just had its big night. The French Oscars, you could call them, or more properly, 'les Césars', in which instead of getting a little dude in 1930's futuristic style, you get a gold brick of mashed together scrap metal by famous French sculptor César, because we're the French...

Les Césars

So there! :P In fact, we gave a 'César d'Honneur' to Will Smith this year, altho what an Oscar of Honor from a member of the Axis of Weasels stands for, I don't know. Oh, sorry, forgot Condi was here last week to listen to Chamber Music and tell us America doesn't hate us. We were so relieved. ;) Oh, and appreciative of her Neo-save-the-World outfit in Wiesbaden. Luuuv da boots, Ms Rice, really. The Manolo, he must have approved the boots of the State.

Condi's boots

Anyhoo, not what I wanted to talk about. Also won't touch the usual gripes about how phony the whole thing sounds, etc, because one day, my darling, genius daughter Chloe will go up on that stage to receive one of those heavy gold bricks for best first film, or best director, or perhaps even best film, and I wouldn't want people to quote from the old archives of the man who dethroned the Instapundit (not even gonna link him) as the biggest blogger in the universe, who would just happen to be her aging father, and embarrass her. I mean, the whole moment should be about her, not me, you know?

Shooting on location, Thailand 2003

Where was I? Oh, yes, I want to thank my wonderful dad, so funny, so kind, so inspiring and trusting and supportive and... oh, no, errr... wrong paper, this one's for Chloe. No, shopping list for GISBE... ah! there it is. I wanted to point out how PROUD I am, me personally as a frenchman almost born in Algeria, and with a profound admiration for the islamic culture and faith thru the ages, a bottomless sorrow that this proud, deep, generous, open faith and its people have fallen on such hard times, AND a lasting sense of shame for my country's treatment of her sons and daughters of arabic descent, THAT a young frenchman of North African origins, Abdellatif Kechiche, has won Césars for best script, best director and best film with his film "l'esquive" set in one of our "troubled neighborhoods". Oh, and they threw in best new female actress in there somewhere.

Link to a french review of the film

Congrats, Abdel, and shukran for being so modest and noble up there at the stand. I love your Saladin quote :

"Pleasure or pain until death. When pleasure is here, enjoy."