Camera tests “The Own of Man” (1960), in the documentary portrait “Claude Lelouch, life better”, by Elise Baudouin. FILMS 13
FRANCE 5 – FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15 – 9:05 p.m. – DOCUMENTARY
“I didn’t see the time passing”says Claude Lelouch, 87 years old. Between the test ends of The Proper of man (1961), which he pretends to discover here in the introduction, and Eventuallyhis 51st feature film, released on November 13, the man of cinema assures that he did not “not bothered for a second”. He proves it to us, once again, in this documentary dedicated to him, punctuated by “Great, that’s fantastic!” ».
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Drawing on extracts from his greatest films, the archives of resounding interviews, around twenty making-ofs (including a memorable face-to-face between Jean-Paul Belmondo and a lion in Itinerary of a spoiled child) and some personal archives, Claude Lelouch shares with us, with joyful energy, his joy of filming.
He recalls its origin: during the Occupation, while his mother hid him in the dark rooms of Paris, “because we didn’t stop Jews in the cinemas”. There, he discovers that on the screen, “the people were the same as in the street but more beautiful, more intelligent, more courageous. I said to myself: cinema is life better”.
Strong criticism
Then, there is the “Lelouch method”, unchanged since his first interview at the age of 22: hold the camera himself and destabilize the actors with a sustained pace and the absence of a script, so that they are as natural as possible. possible. A challenge for the actors with whom he worked – as expressed with seriousness or humor by Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, Jean-Louis Trintignant…
“At the end ofA man and a womanwhen Anouk Aimé goes down to the platform, she doesn’t know if Jean-Louis Trintignant will join her or not”specifies the filmmaker. Released in 1966, this film, Palme d’Or at Cannes, brought him global notoriety: he was the first French director to receive two Oscars for the same film (best foreign film and best original screenplay), the second statuette was awarded to him …by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers!
However, Lelouch’s cinema will never be unanimous. The virulent criticisms of him also give rise to some delicious sequences. “At the time, if you are not a left-wing filmmaker, you don’t have criticism”judges the person concerned, who nevertheless recognizes resounding failures, such as The Proper of man or Edith and Marcel (1983).
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Throughout the documentary, real life and filmed life mingle, one nourishing the other. He thus declares to have realized Bastard, we love you (2014) to say sorry to his seven children from five different mothers; he also drew heavily on his experiences as a Jewish child to Les Miserables (1995), with Michel Boujenah. We find the latter on the set of Eventuallycalling out to the filmmaker a « Monsieur Lelouch » respectful.
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The scene is shot at the Parisian brasserie Les Deux Palais, opposite the Palais de Justice, with Kad Merad in the role of a lawyer. The hair has turned white, but the enthusiasm remains intact: “Great, I’ve never seen that!” »he said. Before specifying, off: “It is likely that in everything I tell you I add a little bit.”
Claude Lelouch, life better Documentary portrait of Elise Baudouin (Fr., 2024, 70 min).
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