Death of Jacques Rozier, director and unknown figure of the New Wave

Jacques Rozier died on Friday, June 2, at the age of 96, his colleague told AFP on Saturday evening.

Graduating from IDHEC in 1947, young Jacques soon made a name for himself in the world of short films. In 1955, he created his first short work, Rentrée des classes, followed by Blue Jeans, which paints an alluring portrait of post-war youth. In the next two shorts, Paparazzi and Le Parti des Choises: Bardot and Godard, he cast Brigitte Bardot in a paparazzi confrontation on the set of Disgust (1963), Jean-Luc Godard’s legendary film.

An assistant on the set (notably for Jean Renoir’s 1955 French Cancan), he eventually joined the Buttes-Chaumont television studio. This first job gradually led him to a career as a documentary filmmaker, which saw him between two films, as his feature films, although often covered by reviews, were financial failures.

Direction big screen

In 1960, Rozier made his first film, Adieu Philippine, a bittersweet chronicle of French youth against the backdrop of the Algerian War. Although the feature film was not released until 1963, the filmmaker received very favorable critical and public acclaim. This first production became one of the flagship films of the new wave and François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, personally, publicly came out to defend him. His next film, Du Côté d’Orouët, was released nine years later in 1969. This film, the story of a middle-class family on vacation, stars Bernard Menes and Caroline Cartier.

in 1974, Jacques Rozier Calling Pierre Richard to interpret The Castaways of Turtle Island. There are certain aspectsGoodbye Philippines : Humor bordering on cynicism and a tendency to dreams, a dreamy climate. Maine Océan (1985) is an opportunity for the filmmaker to approach a more intimate style, bringing together several actors (Bernard Menes, Luis Rego, Yves Afonso) in a strange train journey filmed in real time. Thanks to this work, he received the Jean-Vigo prize in 1986. Two more prizes will reward his entire career: the René-Claire prize in 1997 and the Carousel d’Or in 2002.

In 2001, at the Venice Film Festival, the director presented his latest film, Fifi Martingale, a comedy set in the Enghiens-les-Bains casino, where Jean Lefebvre Yves AfonsoAlexandra Stewart and Jacques Francois respond.

death of Jacques Rozier It happened at the hospital between Thursday and Friday night, explained his colleague, Michel Berson, who worked with him for fifteen years.