From the creme of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival to the creme of the Academy Awards. During the 96th Oscars, Justine Triet and her partner (both writing and in life), Arthur Harari, took the Original Screenplay category for the critically acclaimed “Anatomy of a Fall.” The win caps off a remarkable 10 months which saw Triet and “Anatomy” win the prestigious Palme d’Or – only the third woman to do so – and up with an Oscar.
READ MORE: “Anatomy Of A Fall” Review: Words shape reality in Justine Triet’s gripping masterpiece [Cannes]
Set in contemporary Grenoble, France, “Anatomy” centers on the trial of a respected novelist Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), who is accused of murdering her husband. Voyter insists it was an accident, he fell from their 2nd story balcony, but circumstantial evidence is not on her side. Her young son, who is visually impaired, becomes a key witness in the case. Oh, and there is also Messi, who plays the family’s dog Snoop and became a darling of the awards circuit.
Over the course of the season, Triet and Harari won the BAFTA Award for Original Screenplay, the European Film Award for European Screenwriter, and the Cesar Award for Original Screenplay. Overall, “Anatomy” won six European Film Awards including European Film of the Year and European Director. It practically swept the Cesar Awards taking six prizes including Best Film and Best Director for Triet.
“Anatomy” also won International Film (or Best Foreign Language Film) at the Independent Spirit Awards and from an avalanche of critics groups such as the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and New York Film Critics Circle. In fact, “Anatomy” earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Hüller), and Best Editing. Along with its Original Screenplay citation, it was one of just three Best Picture nominees with the “key” nominations most considered necessary to win the Academy’s top prize. Triet also became the first French woman to be nominated for both the Best Director Oscar and the Original Screenplay category.
The deluge of global critical response and Academy recognition for “Anatomy” makes the fact the movie was not selected as France’s International Film submission perhaps one of the biggest miscalculations in Oscar history. The French committee did not say why it passed on “Anatomy,” it was up for consideration, but fears over the amount of English dialogue in the movie seemed to be the biggest culprit (and, perhaps, unfitting for a “French” submission). It was then somewhat ironic months later when Cesar voters blanketed the film with wins. To put salt in the wound, France’s official submission, “The Taste of Things,” a period film centered on French cooking, did not make the International Film cut. Despite winning the category 12 times, the last time France took home the statue was for “Indochine” in 1993.
Triet’s previous directorial efforts include 2013’s “Age of Panic,” 2016’s “In Bed With Victoria,” and 2019’s “Sybil.” Harari previously starred in “Age of Panic” and co-wrote “Sybil.” He has numerous screenwriting and directing credits on his own such as 2015’s “Dark Inclusion” and 2021’s Japanese language-epic “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.”
“Anatomy of a Fall” is available on digital download services.