The actor and director died at the age of 72 after suffering a heart attack.
An essential figure in French cinema, he had a prolific career both in front of and behind the camera.
Focus on the five films that left their mark on spectators.
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Death of Michel Blanc, emblematic member of Les Bronzés
It is a monument of French cinema which has left us. Michel Blanc died during the night from Thursday to Friday at the age of 72. The actor suffered a heart attack in the evening and was transported in serious condition to a Parisian hospital. Member of the Splendid troupe alongside Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko and Marie-Anne Chazel, he is particularly known for his irresistible character of Jean-Claude Dusse in The Bronzed . Emeritus director of Walk in the shade or Severe Fatiguehere are the six films that marked his career both in front of and behind the camera.
“The Bronzed” (1978, 1979, 2006)
The Splendid troupe has transposed its café-theatre success to the cinema (Love, shellfish and crustaceans) with The Bronzed. Directed by Patrice Leconte, it is a big success. The box office is even bigger, a year later, with The Bronzed go skiing. Both films quickly became cult.
Alongside Jugnot, Balasko, Clavier, Lhermitte and Chazel, the public discovers Michel Blanc as Jean-Claude Dusse, the bald weakling and failed flirt whose lines have passed down to posterity. The happy band meets again almost 30 years later in The Bronzed 3. The film certainly finds its audience again (more than 10 million admissions) but the magic is no longer there. Michel Blanc modestly admits that this is not what he has “does better”.
“Walking in the Shadow” (1984)
This is the first of five films he directed. Homeless back in France, Denis (Michel Blanc), eternal hypochondriac complainer, wants to get back into music with his adventurer friend, the handsome guy François (Gérard Lanvin). Despite enormous critical and public success (six million admissions), this film marks for him “the end of a cycle”. “Until ‘Walk in the Shadow’, I stayed where I was, then I told myself that it was the best way to never swim well…”
He will wait ten years to get back behind the camera with Severe Fatigue (1994), where he played his own role and which allowed him to win the best screenplay prize at Cannes. Will come next Bad Pass (1999), le vaudeville Kiss whoever you want (2002) and its sequel See how we dance (2018).
“Evening Wear” (1986)
A turning point in his career. Michel Blanc takes his audience on the wrong foot by completely changing register in front of Bertrand Blier’s camera. “Going from the little flirt with a French mustache to the guy who gets fucked by Depardieu, it’s risky!” He moves in the role of Antoine, who leaves his wife to enter into a relationship with Depardieu and ends up fooling around with him in drag. A successful bet: he won the Best Actor Prize at Cannes.
“Mr. Hire” (1989)
He transforms the essay by showing the extent of his talent and his ability to play dramatic films in this remake (signed Patrice Leconte) of Panic by Julien Duvivier, after Georges Simenon. In the title role, Michel Blanc is this disturbing and unhappy voyeur, unjustly accused of a crime. A big success, particularly internationally, the feature film has definitely earned him the right to be considered a complete actor.
“I find you very handsome” (2005)
When Isabelle Mergault asked him to play a widowed farmer looking for a wife, he didn’t hesitate for a second. The public followed, the film was a very big success. He plays Aymé, a man with a dry heart who goes to Romania to find a partner. Without making an emotional commitment, he wants above all to bring in labor for his farm. But he finds himself trapped in love. “In the metro, people said to me, ‘We loved this character’”. At the Cabourg Festival, Michel Blanc was even crowned romantic actor of the year.
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“The Exercise of State” (2011)
Michel Blanc is Bernard, an old veteran of ministerial cabinets who assists a minister (Olivier Gourmet) confronted with daily emergencies and an explosive file, in a State which devours those who serve it. Yet another new character against the job, that of an impassive and self-confident man in this political thriller. Already nominated four times for the César for best actor, he won his first prize in a strong supporting role.
