We owe him some great cinema classics of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Evening Wear, Cold Buffet or Prepare Your Handkerchiefs, Oscar for best foreign film.
A few days later David Lynch in the United States, the 7th art loses another cult director. Bertrand Blier died this Tuesday at the age of 85, his relatives announced to AFP. Son of Bernard Blier (died in 1989), legend of the cinema of Michel Audiard (in The Gunslingers or Le cave se rebiffe), he preferred to stay behind the camera, starting his career in the early 1960s.
Before his 25th birthday, Bertrand Blier made his mark as an assistant director of Georges Lautneron his father’s films. He takes the camera to make a first documentary Hitler, don’t know (in 1963), on French youth of the time, consisting of eleven interviews with young people. Shortly after, the budding director launched into fiction and directed his father in If I were a spy (1967). A very first feature film which will not find its audience (less than 100,000 admissions). So while waiting to be able to make a new film, Bertrand Blier écrit Let it go, it’s a waltzfor Lautner then published the novel The Valseuseswhich he managed to adapt for the cinema in 1974. It was a hit: more than 5.7 million French people discovered the wanderings of Gérard Depardieu et Patrick Dewaere.
The filmmaker also found the duo shortly after to Prepare your tissues (1978), which earned him the Oscar for best foreign film in 1979. A consecration for Bertrand Blierwho will be able to experience everything later, at the dawn of the 1980s.
In 1979, he found his father to Buffet froid, masterpiece of black humor which will be followed by a foray into pure comedy with La My friend’s wife, worn by Coluche (1983). Then he stages Michel Blancloser Tannedin an unexpected role with Evening wear (1986). Once again, it was a success with more than 3 million entries.
Shortly after, it was another actress from Splendid, Josiane Balaskowhich he places in front of Gérard Depardieu In Too beautiful for you (1989) with another nice success in theaters (2 million admissions) and especially at the Césars, winning the prize for Best Film and Best Director, after winning the Grand Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
Thank you life (in 1991), bringing together Charlotte Gainsbourg and the one who became his companion, Anouk Grinbergwill be his last success, above a million.
From the 1990s, Bertrand Blier struggles to convince critics. His cinema is less appreciated and failures follow one another in theaters, as for The Actors (in 2000), his ode to the main living French actors of the end of the 20th century. The adaptation of his play, Chopswas even very poorly received at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. His last feature film, Exceptional convoywith Gérard Depardieu once again headlining, was also a critical and commercial failure with less than 200,000 admissions in France.
But whatever. Bertrand Blier had already left its mark on French cinema for a long time. A non-conformist and irreverent style which has inspired many directors.
