Maurice Pialat
Encyclopedia
Maurice Pialat was a French film director
, screenwriter
and actor noted for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as being "realist
", though many film critics acknowledge that it does not fit the traditional definition of realism.
Pialat came to filmmaking late. He directed his feature-length debut, 1969's L'Enfance Nue
(The Naked Childhood) at the age of 44. The film, which was co-produced by French New Wave
director François Truffaut
, won the Prix Jean Vigo
.
During his 35 year career, Pialat completed only ten major features, many of which—most notably Loulou
--have been interpreted as being autobiographical. He directed Gérard Depardieu
in three films, including Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan), for which Pialat won the Palme d'Or
at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival
.
In a posthumous tribute written for the French film magazine Positif
, critic Noël Herpe referred to Pialat's style as a "a naturalism
that was born of formalism
." In English-language film criticism, he is often compared to his American contemporary John Cassavetes
.
Summarizing Pialat's stance as a filmmaker in a profile for Film Comment, critic Kent Jones
wrote: "To say that Pialat marched to the beat of a different drummer is to put it mildly. In fact, he didn't really march at all. He ambled, and fuck anybody who got it into their head that they'd like to amble along with him. Or behind him. Or ahead of him."
of Pialat's work, film critic Kent Jones wrote: "Even more than Jean Eustache
[...] Pialat was an irascibly private artist, charting a twisted, crook-backed path with each new movie, almost always emerging with works in which the mind-bending vitality of immediate experience trumps all belief systems, allegiances, plans. [...] More than Cassavetes
, more than Renoir
, Pialat wanted every frame of celluloid bearing his name to be marked by the here and the now. [...] He was always willing to bend his narratives around experience. And the frequent ruptures, discontinuities
, perspective shifts, and ellipses in his work are less single-minded than those of Cassavetes, more far-reaching in their implications."
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and actor noted for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as being "realist
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
", though many film critics acknowledge that it does not fit the traditional definition of realism.
Life and career
Pialat originally intended to become a painter, but met with little success. Having acquired a camera at age 16, he tried his hand at documentary films before making his first notable short, L'Amour existe, in 1960.Pialat came to filmmaking late. He directed his feature-length debut, 1969's L'Enfance Nue
L'Enfance Nue
Naked Childhood is a 1968 French film. It was the feature-length debut of director Maurice Pialat, and was written by Pialat and Arlette Langmann. François Truffaut was one of the film's producers....
(The Naked Childhood) at the age of 44. The film, which was co-produced by French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
director François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
, won the Prix Jean Vigo
Prix Jean Vigo
The Prix Jean Vigo is an award in the Cinema of France given annually since 1951 to a French film director in homage to Jean Vigo. It was founded by French writer Claude...
.
During his 35 year career, Pialat completed only ten major features, many of which—most notably Loulou
Loulou (film)
Loulou is a 1980 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. It stars Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu. For Loulou, Pialat was nominated for the Golden Palm award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Isabelle Huppert as Nelly...
--have been interpreted as being autobiographical. He directed Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
in three films, including Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan), for which Pialat won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival
1987 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Yves Montand*Danièle Heymann*Elem Klimov*Gérald Calderon*Jeremy Thomas*Jerzy Skolimowski*Nicola Piovani*Norman Mailer*Theo Angelopoulos-Feature film competition:...
.
In a posthumous tribute written for the French film magazine Positif
Positif (magazine)
Positif is a French film magazine, founded in 1952 by Bernard Chardère. It was published by Eric Losfeld.It often acted as a counterpoint to Cahiers du cinéma, another well-known French film journal, notably with Gerard Gozlan's article sarcastically titled "In Praise of André Bazin."The current...
, critic Noël Herpe referred to Pialat's style as a "a naturalism
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
that was born of formalism
Formalism (art)
In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form--the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content...
." In English-language film criticism, he is often compared to his American contemporary John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
.
Summarizing Pialat's stance as a filmmaker in a profile for Film Comment, critic Kent Jones
Kent Jones
Thomas Kenton "Kent" Jones is a writer and performer on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, airing live M-F at 9 p.m. Eastern time...
wrote: "To say that Pialat marched to the beat of a different drummer is to put it mildly. In fact, he didn't really march at all. He ambled, and fuck anybody who got it into their head that they'd like to amble along with him. Or behind him. Or ahead of him."
Style
The films of Maurice Pialat are often noted for their loose yet rigorous style and for their somewhat elliptical editing, which emphasizes an unsentimental worldview. Describing the unique aestheticsAesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
of Pialat's work, film critic Kent Jones wrote: "Even more than Jean Eustache
Jean Eustache
Jean Eustache was a French filmmaker. During his short career, he completed numerous shorts, in addition to a pair of highly regarded features, of which the first, The Mother and the Whore, is considered a key work of post-Nouvelle Vague French cinema.In his obituary for Eustache, the influential...
[...] Pialat was an irascibly private artist, charting a twisted, crook-backed path with each new movie, almost always emerging with works in which the mind-bending vitality of immediate experience trumps all belief systems, allegiances, plans. [...] More than Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
, more than Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, Pialat wanted every frame of celluloid bearing his name to be marked by the here and the now. [...] He was always willing to bend his narratives around experience. And the frequent ruptures, discontinuities
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
, perspective shifts, and ellipses in his work are less single-minded than those of Cassavetes, more far-reaching in their implications."
Feature films
- L'Enfance NueL'Enfance NueNaked Childhood is a 1968 French film. It was the feature-length debut of director Maurice Pialat, and was written by Pialat and Arlette Langmann. François Truffaut was one of the film's producers....
(Naked Childhood) (1968) - Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (We Won't Grow Old Together) (1972)
- La Gueule ouverteLa Gueule ouverteThe Mouth Agape is a 1974 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. It depicts, in a cinematic realist fashion, a woman going through a terminal illness and also dealing with the tumorous lives of her husband and son. It was one of the least commercially successful of Pilat's films. It was...
(1974) - Passe ton bac d'abord (Graduate First) (1979)
- LoulouLoulou (film)Loulou is a 1980 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. It stars Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu. For Loulou, Pialat was nominated for the Golden Palm award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Isabelle Huppert as Nelly...
(1980) - À nos amoursÀ nos amoursÀ nos amours is a 1983 French film directed by Maurice Pialat, written by Arlette Langmann and Pialat.-Plot:The film is a character study focusing on Suzanne, a promiscuous fifteen-year-old Parisian, played by Sandrine Bonnaire...
(To Our Loves) (1983) - Police (1985)
- Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan) (1987)
- Van Gogh (1991)
- Le GarçuLe GarçuLe Garçu is a 1995 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat and starring Gérard Depardieu.-Cast:* Gérard Depardieu - Gerard* Géraldine Pailhas - Sophie* Antoine Pialat - Antoine* Dominique Rocheteau - Jeannot* Fabienne Babe - Cathy...
(1995)
Short films (selected)
- L'Amour existe (1960)
- Janine (1961)
- Maître Galip (1962)
- Jardins d'Arabie (1963)
- Byzance (1964)
- PehlivanPehlivan (film)Pehlivan is a 1984 Turkish drama film directed by Zeki Ökten. It was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival where Tarık Akan won an Honourable Mention.-Cast:* Tarık Akan as Bilal* Yavuzer Cetinkaya* Tulug Çizgen...
(1964)
External links
- Maurice Pialat Resource (in French)
- Literature on Maurice Pialat