Jean-Luc Godard, director of political and radical films, dies

Jean-Luc Godard, director of political and radical films, dies


The Franco-Swiss director, author of classics such as ‘Bounded’, was 91 years old

Franco-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard died on Tuesday 13 at the age of 91. The cause of his death has not been reported. The news was confirmed by the French newspaper liberationfrom family information.

Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard. Photo Christian Hartmann / Reuters Photo: Christian Hartmann

Known for radical and politically active filmography, Godard was among the most acclaimed directors of his generation with classic films such as Accossado (Bout de souffle), which launched it on the world stage in 1960. The film follows the story of a young American girl in Paris, played by actress Jean Seberg, and her doomed relationship with a young runaway rebel, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo.

This film, which marked his film debut, revolutionized popular cinema and soon established Godard as one of the most vital and provocative directors in the world. After all, he rewrote the rules for the camera, sound and storytelling. He also knew how to be controversial, like when he was long Je Vous Salue, Marie (1985) was rejected by Pope John Paul II – the film was even banned in Brazil. But Godard also made a number of experimental and politically charged films that intrigued his fans and critics.

Born to a wealthy Franco-Swiss family on December 3, 1930 in Paris, Godard grew up in Nyon, Switzerland, studied ethnology at the Sorbonne in the French capital, where he was increasingly drawn to the flourishing cultural scene in the Latin Quarter. birth of the film clubs born after the Second World War.

He befriends future renowned directors such as François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer and, in 1950, he founded the Gazzetta del Cinema. In 1952 Godard began writing for the prestigious film magazine Cahiers du Cinema.

Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo in a scene from the film Besieged, directed in 1960 by Jean-Luc Godard. Photo Zeta Filmes Photo: undefined /

After working on two Rivette and Rohmer films in 1951, Godard attempted to direct his first feature film while traveling North and South America with his father, but never finished it. Back in Europe, he found work in Switzerland as a construction worker on a dam project. He used the money to finance his first feature film, Beton operation1958, a 20-minute documentary about the construction of the dam.

Back in Paris, Godard worked as a spokesperson for an artists agency and made his first fiction short film, All the boys are called Patrick, published in 1959. Restless, he continued to improve his writing. But he was with harassed that Godard set the tone for French cinematic aesthetics, rejecting the conventional style of storytelling, using frequent cuts that alternated philosophical discussions with action scenes. The director combined references to Hollywood mafia films with literature and the visual arts.

The director, who over time has earned a reputation for his left-wing political beliefs, has shown his sympathy for various forms of socialism in films shot between the early 1970s and early 1990s.

Source: Terra

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