Claude Lelouch is one of those directors who devotes his entire life to cinema. He also used elements of his personal history to nourish his art. For example, some of his films like Each Other refer to his childhood as a Jew during the Occupation. In the documentary Claude Lelouch, Life as in the cinemabroadcast this Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 10:55 p.m. on Canal+, the filmmaker recounts his journey behind the camera, but also the significant moments of his life. He confides in particular about his main regret as a father.
A turbulent love life for Claude Lelouch
Claude Lelouch had a series of conquests as well as romantic relationships. He never hid it. The director married for the first time in 1967 to Christine Cochet, the mother of his first child Simon Lelouch. In 1976, the filmmaker welcomed his second child, Sarah Lelouch, this time, with model Gunilla Friden. In 1983, Salomé was born from her relationship with the actress Évelyne Bouix. In 1986, Claude Lelouch married Marie-Sophie Pochat. From this second union three children were born: Shaya, Sabaya and Sachka. Stella Lelouch, last child of the blended family, was born in 1998. She is the fruit of Claude Lelouch's third marriage, with Alessandra Martines. In total, the filmmaker is the father of seven children, born to five different mothers.
Claude Lelouch regrets not having been more present for his children
It is therefore a very eventful sentimental life which allowed the film buff to experience fatherhood. Certainly, in somewhat atypical conditions… However, with this large blended family, Claude Lelouch admits to not having been a very present father. The director confides: “I devoted more time to cinema than to my children and it is one of my great sufferings. I didn't often pick up my children from school, I didn't help them with their homework.” A situation which was also complicated for the filmmaker, who says: “And what's more, I've been divorced many times, so it's the mothers who have picked up the children. The children, when they were little, looked at me with the look of their mothers. They were getting a little revenge. I suffered a lot from my children who looked at me like a bad dad.“This complex family situation, Claude Lelouch discussed it in particular with Johnny Hallyday. The French star, who died in 2017, had played in the film Bastard, we love you. According to the director, his rocker friend confided to him: “I too have devoted more time to the stage, to my tours, than to my children.“
Claude Lelouch: a filmmaker of all times
In 2023, the director married for the fourth time, to the novelist 30 years his junior, Valérie Perrin. During the ceremony, Claude Lelouch had a surprising behavior which made his guests laugh a lot. In the documentary, William Leymergie, a friend of the filmmaker, recounts this anecdote: “He got married, it was 5:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., he was filming. He tours with his guests. His guests are his friends but also his actors or his extras.” Actor Kad Merad, who participated in Eventuallyexplain : “He took advantage of his wedding to film two or three shots and in fact, it’s in the film. That's it, Claude Lelouch, he uses everything.“This anecdote perfectly illustrates the fact that the 7th art has a predominant place in the director’s life.
Claude Lelouch, Life as in the cinemaa documentary broadcast Wednesday November 13, 2024 at 10:55 p.m. on Canal+.
