The world of seventh art is in mourning. This Monday, January 20, 2025, director Bertrand Blier died at the age of 85. Information confirmed by his family.
Monument of French cinema, Bertrand Blier left his mark on the history of the big screen, signing works as daring as they are memorable.
Of Evening wear has Buffet froidpassing through Prepare your tissues (film which won him the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1979, editor's note) or even Calm, Too beautiful for you et If I were a spythe filmmaker knew how to captivate spectators with his inimitable style, mixing provocation, dark humor and a deep exploration of the human condition.
Rain of tributes on social networks
Since the death of Bertrand Blier, tributes continue to pour in on the Web. The former Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, for example, took to his social networks to honor the memory of the director whom he describes as“iconoclast”of “provocateur” and“immensely talented”.
“Bertrand Blier will have made the heyday of French cinema“, he notably confided on X (formerly Twitter).
For him, the artist was a “writing master“. “Goldsmith of dialogues, fine observer of the human soul, in his films, he dissected without taboos and with infinite freedom the excesses and worries of our time“, added Jack Lang.
And to conclude: “Bertrand Blier did not want to please, he liked above all to provoke to fuel debates and move the lines. He leaves us a cult filmography which will lastingly permeate the 7th art“. An opinion that not everyone seems to share. Starting with Emmanuelle Dancourt, one of the 22 complainants in the PPDA affair.
-Emmanuelle Dancourt without filter on Les Valseuses
Present on the set of BFM TV This Tuesday, January 21, the author expressed her indignation at the success of Bertrand Blier's achievements.
According to her, certain works of the filmmaker, although critically acclaimed, convey messages that she considers problematic.
This is also why she always refused to watch The Valseuses. “It's a film that I always refused to see because I was very embarrassed by the role given to women“, she explained before revealing that she had also been embarrassed by the success of the feature film which, upon its release, was nevertheless “prohibited for under 18s“.
“This cult film has become, today, a film that validates rape culture“, she said. “It's a series of rapes and sexual assaults that have been completely downplayed. Just talk to Brigitte Fossey who is unable to watch the scene that concerns her when she is breastfeeding a baby. She can't do it because it's an attack. It is a film which today is denounced.” A clear opinion which did not fail to make viewers react.
