Harvey Weinstein: Oscars in Hollywood, Silver Medal in France and Brewing Controversy Stateside

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Two weeks after winning a handful of gold statuettes in Hollywood for his French silent movie, “The Artist”, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was awarded a silver medal in Paris.

French president Nicholas Sarkozy made Weinstein a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. During a private ceremony at the Elysee Palace, Sarkozy thanked Weinstein for his years of contribution to cinema.

Sarkozy had written Weinstein last summer to inform him he intended to present him with this distinction on behalf of the French nation, “to express our gratitude to someone who has always shown great friendship towards our country and our cinema, which you have enabled so many Americans to discover.”

Harvey Weinstein says he has been a life-long admirer of French films, and last week, he declared that France was experiencing a “golden age” of cinema.

But you might wonder whether the French films he’s about to bring to these shores truly reflect a golden age.

Among them are “Les Infidèles” or “The Players,” a series of sketches about adultery. According to Paris-based film critic Lisa Nesselson who writes for the British film magazine “Screen International,” the film is “raunchy” and “makes ‘Bridesmaids’ look practically demure.”

Controversial posters were eventually pulled off the streets

Jean Dujardin, who just won the Oscar for Best Actor in “The Artist,” not only stars in the film, but also co-wrote it. And there’s a good chance the characters he plays in it will shatter his image as an elegant matinee idol here.

New York Times Paris correspondent Elaine Sciolino wrote about that ahead of the last month’s Academy Awards ceremony. She said some in France were wondering “whether politically incorrect street posters advertising Jean Dujardin’s new comedy had sunk his chance to win the best-actor Oscar for ‘The Artist.’”

Clearly, they didn’t.

At one point, “The Players” contained a scene in which adulterous sex plays out against a backdrop of the September 11 attacks. As Peter Allen reported in The Telegraph, the scene showed Dujardin as a New York businessman talking to his wife on the phone while having sex with his mistress in a lower Manhattan hotel. The character lies to his wife about being in his office at the World Trade Center, swearing that everything is fine, while in the background a plane is seen hitting the second tower.

“The Players” French producers decided to delete the scene before the movie arrived in French theaters. But even with that bit out, it’s unclear how Americans will take to the stale sexist jokes about the fun of being a serial-cheating fool.

The other film Harvey Weinstein is taking on is ‘Intouchables.” It’s a comedic bromance — of sorts. A quadriplegic white millionaire hires as his full-time caretaker a young man of African descent from the slums. It’s based on a true story, and the two lead actors, François Cluzet and Omar Sy, have great on-screen chemistry, and charisma.

Last month, Sy, who plays the young caretaker, “Driss,” won a César for best actor–France’s equivalent of an Oscar– beating Jean Dujardin in that category.

“Intouchables” was France’s feel-good movie this year, and it’s been hugely popular. Film critic Lisa Nesselson says it’s sold more than 19 million tickets in France, a country of 60 million people.

Some see it as escapism, and point to the positive image it gives of disadvantaged youth. But critics like Kate Deimling, writing for the The Huffington Post, saw predictable humor and racial stereotypes in it.

The story may resonate with French people, but will probably seem dated to Americans. That’s part of the “Charm Offensive”, New York Times’ film critic A.O. Scott refers to about “Intouchables.”

Harvey Weinstein may have great admiration for French cinema, but it’s hard to imagine that the two new films he is about to distribute here will duplicate the success of “The Artist” and leave its golden aura unscathed.

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