Mahil Senathirajah
Martin Scorsese is an iconic, 81 year-old male, American director with 26 feature films under his belt, 10 Academy Award nominations and a voluble speaking style. Justine Triet is a 45 year-old, female, French director with 4 feature films under her belt and 1 Academy Award nomination. She brought a translator. And, yet Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) director Roger Durling correctly thought they would work well together in last night’s project, the SBIFF Outstanding Directors Awards.
The Arlington was full and the crowd energized. The attendance for this event, and the tributes and panels in general, seems way up from last year. Scott Feinberg moderated the evening bringing a genial warmth to the interviews.
Justine Triet started first with most of the discussion centered around her latest film, Anatomy of a Fall, for which she is nominated for a Best Director Oscar. In that film, Sandra Hüller gives a riveting performance as a strong, professionally ambitious, confident, sexual woman who may, or may not, have pushed her husband to his death.
“For me she was not playing she was living. She was so special. So shy in real life buy on fire on set,” Triet said of Hüller. “How can we dive into this complex woman? She gave me the inspiration, of course. She’s a mystery in a way.”
Secret recordings play a big part in the unfolding mystery. Triet recounted sheepishly that, as a young woman, she had a bad habit of recording conversations, intrigued by the way people interacted and spoke to each other. Seeming not to have disclosed this furtive pursuit previously, she nervously made it clear to the audience it was as thing of the past.
The films ending is ambiguous. One of the pleasures of the film is trying to figure out what really happened. Feinberg basically asked what really happened. Triet could not be broken that easily but did say she has told one person the answer. That implies there is a clear answer which might not have been the case, the film’s ending may have always left open the possibility of multiple murders. She did say she would come back and reveal it in 10 years.
A border collie plays a prominent role in the film. She said that, at the Oscar brunch that occurred Sunday, the dog “Messi,” stole the show taking pics with Ryan Gosling among others. Here’s coverage with a clip Oscars Luncheon 2024: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anatomy of a Fall Dog (variety.com)
When awarding Justine Triet, Roger Durling said, “I knew she was talented but nothing prepares me to the cerebral murder trial in Anatomy of a Fall… She totally entertains us but puts a mirror up to use to see how society treats us.”
Martin Scorsese then took the stage to reverent and rapturous applause. Regarding Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese said it was the story that intrigued him and as he learned more about it, he understood it had sociological importance. He observed that the story involved the complicity of average people that built incrementally and likened it to the psychology of Germany in the 1930’s.
“During that period of Irishman, I visited Osage nation and Oklahoma twice, realizing there was much more to the story to simply a police procedural. When I read the stuff and met the people, I knew it’s not about who did or didn’t do it. It’s who did it?” Scorsese said.
The Osage community, in fact, was hesitant about his telling of their story thinking that he was mainly interested in the violence whereas their perspective was that “it isn’t as simple as villains an victims…. they were in love”. Scorsese understood what they were saying and won their trust.
“When I heard the Osage speak and hang around at dinner, somehow this tragedy had a face. And it [the script] changed,” he said.
Lastly, he recounted the creation of the “you talking to me?” scene in Taxi Driver. It was a hot, night shoot in a grimy, violent New York City in the summer of ’75. He had set up the scene with DeNiro playing with a gun like you do as a kid. He thought that DeNiro should say something. They called Paul Schrader, the screenwriter, but didn’t land on any dialogue. It was dangerous (the street sounds are real in that scene). Time was running out. Then DeNiro just started saying, “you talking to me” and then kept repeating it over and over finding a menacing groove. They shot it fast. He said of the iconic scene, “we just squeezed it in”. Here’s the scene (“you talking to me” right at the end): You Talkin’ To Me? | Taxi Driver (1976) | 1080p HD (youtube.com).
Roger During presented the award, remarking that “there is nothing better than listening to the rat-a-tat cadence of Martin Scorsese.”
“Please keep making films for the fulfillment for all of us,” said Durling.
While they didn’t have any scenes together (Triet and Scorsese didn’t interact), the evening was a very enjoyable look at two talented directors at different ends of their careers. We’ll have to see what (unambiguous) ending Oscar night holds for both of them.
The Outstanding Directors of the Year award is given to directors who are not afraid to push the envelope in the cinematic world and has the eye for the picture they want to present and then does so, with an expertise that is both gracious and bold. Past recipients include Todd Field, Martin McDonagh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kenneth Branagh, Jane Campion, Steven Spielberg, Chloé Zhao, David Fincher, Yorgos Lanthimos, Spike Lee, Adam McKay, Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, Guillermo del Toro, Jordan Peele, Damien Chazelle, and Ava Duverney.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Learn more at sbiff.org
