The crazy comedy “Everything Everywhere All At Once” raided the Oscars on Sunday March 12, winning seven major prizes including those for best film and best actress for its heroine Michelle Yeoh, the first actress of Asian origin to receive the supreme award.

Only German film ” In the west, nothing is new “ managed to exist in the face of this stamped feature film, where a black hole in the shape of a bagel and sex toy used as nunchakus. The adaptation of the famous pacifist novel about the First World War won four Oscars, including that of the best international film.

The breaking wave “EverythingEverywhere” had been announced for weeks. The film, which tells the adventures of Evelyn, an overworked laundromat owner suddenly summoned to save a multitude of parallel universes from an evil force, had dominated all the award shows organized before the Oscars.

With its mostly Asian cast, this crazy feature film has become a symbol for Hollywood, often criticized in recent years for its lack of diversity.

“Thank you to the Academy, this is History in motion”launched the Malaysian Michelle Yeoh, heroine of the film and first actress of Asian origin awarded the Oscar for best actress.

Goofy creators

In the film, her character as a Chinese immigrant must fight against the alter ego of her depressed daughter, who threatens the “multiverse” whole. To achieve this, Evelyn must use the powers of her various alternative lives, visiting often completely crazy worlds, where some humans, for example, have fingers in the shape of hot dogs.

The zany creative duo behind the film, Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, shared the Oscar for best director.

On stage, the first thanked his parents for having always supported his crazy side. “Thank you for not crushing my creativity when I was making disturbing horror movies or evil comedies, or dressing up as a drag queen as a kid”, he blurted out. The other stars of the film, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis, got their hands on the statuettes of the best supporting roles. They each broke down in tears on stage.

The Vietnamese-born actor, who plays Evelyn’s clumsy husband in the film, notably takes resounding revenge on an industry that had completely forgotten about him. Revealed at age 12 by “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” by 1984, he had given up his acting career in the 90s, faced with the lack of opportunities for Asian actors. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. It’s the American dream”he wondered.

In the West, rewards

Alongside this steamroller, also awarded the Oscar for best original screenplay and best editing, the German film ” In the west, nothing is new “ established itself as the other revelation of the evening with four Oscars.

This new version of the famous novel about the great butchery of 14-18 was voted best international film and won various technical awards (photography, sets, soundtrack).

“Thank you, it means so much to us”said its director Edward Berger, who helmed this third adaptation of German Erich Maria Remarque’s masterpiece, the first in Goethe’s language.

The awards of the evening also saw Brendan Fraser scoop the Oscar for best actor, for his role as an obese professor recluse at home in “The Whale”, and Mexican director Guillermo del Toro won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature with his dark version of Pinocchio.

The slap still resounds

The evening obviously did not ignore the slap inflicted last year by Will Smith on comedian Chris Rock, after a joke about his wife’s alopecia. It still resonated on stage, thanks to the many jokes of this year’s presenter, Jimmy Kimmel. “If anyone in this theater commits a violent act, you will be rewarded with the Oscar for best actor and allowed to give a 19-minute speech”, launched with malice the comedian.

The Academy had indeed been criticized for letting Will Smith receive his award for best actor on stage after his assault. He has since been banned from performing for 10 years.

The show went off without a hitch and started out strong, with two US Navy fighter jets flying over Hollywood, a nod to the blockbuster.Top Gun: Maverick, which brought the general public back to the cinema after the pandemic.

Among other highlights, stars Lady Gaga and Rihanna each performed the songs they were nominated for. The public also took advantage of the exuberance of Indian cinema, thanks to a troupe of dancers who set the stage on fire “Naatu Naatu”the movie song“RRR”awarded with an Oscar.

It remains to be seen whether this unforeseen ceremony brought viewers back to their television sets. Despite a rebound, thanks in part to the infamous slap, last year’s ratings were the second-worst in the ceremony’s history. Like the cinema, the Hollywood high mass therefore seeks to prove that it still has its place in the post-pandemic world.