Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",Maurice Pialat: A Cinema of Surrender
at

Rouge Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...

though many film criticsTribute to Maurice Pialat
at Senses of Cinema acknowledge it does not fit the traditional definition of realism. Pialat's films are said to have dispensed with mannerisms, and his everyday stories tell the bittersweet nature of the French petty bourgeoisie. This earned him the disregard of some critics, but also enduring popularity, with films characterized by a psychological narrative style, often set outside the metropolises.

Life and career

Pialat was born in

Cunlhat Cunlhat () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. People Cunlhat was the birthplace of Maurice Pialat (1925–2003), film director and actor. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department ...

, Puy-de-Dôme, France. He originally intended to become a painter, but met with little success.Lightning in a Bottle
at ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'' Having acquired a camera at age 16, he tried his hand at

documentary films A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

before making his first notable short, '' L'amour existe'', in 1960. Pialat came to filmmaking late. He directed his feature-length debut, 1969's '' L'enfance nue'' (''The Naked Childhood'') at age 43. The film, which was co-produced by French New Wave director François Truffaut, won the Prix Jean Vigo. During his 35-year career, Pialat completed ten major features, many of which—most notably '' Loulou''—have been interpreted as autobiographical. He directed Gérard Depardieu in four films: '' Loulou'', ''

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

'', '' Sous le soleil de Satan'' (''Under the Sun of Satan''), for which Pialat won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize was given under the jeers of the public. ...

, and '' Le Garçu'' (1995). In a posthumous tribute written for the French film magazine '' Positif'', critic Noël Herpe called Pialat's style "a naturalism that was born of

formalism Formalism may refer to: * Form (disambiguation) * Formal (disambiguation) * Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary * Formalism (linguistics) * Scie ...

". In English-language film criticism, he is often compared to his American contemporary

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

.Maurice Pialat at John Cassavetes
at Senses of Cinema Summarizing Pialat's stance as a filmmaker in a profile for ''Film Comment'', critic Kent Jones wrote: "To say that Pialat marched to the beat of a different drummer is to put it mildly. In fact, he didn't really march at all. He ambled, and fuck anybody who got it into their head that they'd like to amble along with him. Or behind him. Or ahead of him."

Style

Pialat's films are often noted for their loose yet rigorous style and for their elliptical editing and long takes. Describing the unique

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

of Pialat's work, film critic Kent Jones wrote: "More than Cassavetes, more than

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

, Pialat wanted every frame of celluloid bearing his name to be marked by the here and the now...He was always willing to bend his narratives around experience. And the frequent ruptures, discontinuities, perspective shifts, and ellipses in his work are less single-minded than those of Cassavetes, more far-reaching in their implications."

Filmography

Director

Feature films

*'' L'enfance nue'' (1968) *'' La maison des bois'' (1971, TV mini-series) *'' We Won't Grow Old Together ( Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble)'' (1972) *'' The Mouth Agape (

La gueule ouverte ''The Mouth Agape'' (french: La gueule ouverte) is a 1974 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. It depicts, in a cinematic realist fashion, a woman going through a terminal illness and also dealing with the tumultuous lives of her husband ...

)'' (1974) *'' Graduate First ( Passe ton bac d'abord)'' (1978) *'' Loulou'' (1980) *'' À nos amours'' (1983) *''

'' (1985) *''

Under the Sun of Satan ''Under the Sun of Satan'' () is Georges Bernanos's first published novel, appearing in 1926 in Paris. According to Michel Estève, the novel draws on three primary inspirations: the life of the curate Jean-Marie Vianney, which informs the char ...

( Sous le soleil de Satan)'' (1987) *''

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

'' (1991) *'' Le Garçu'' (1995)

Short films (selected)

*'' Drôles de bobines'' (1957) *'' L'Ombre familière'' (1958) *'' L'amour existe'' (1960) *'' Janine'' (1961) *'' Maître Galip'' (1962) *'' Jardins d'Arabie'' (1963) *'' Byzance'' (1964) *'' Pehlivan'' (1964)

Actor

*''Le jeu de la nuit'' (1957) *''

This Man Must Die ''This Man Must Die'' (french: Que la bête meure), American title ''The Beast Must Die'', is a 1969 French and Italian psychological thriller film directed by Claude Chabrol. The story is based on the 1938 novel '' The Beast Must Die'' by Cecil ...

'' (1969) - Le commissaire de police Constant *'' My Little Loves'' (1974) - Ami d'Henri *''Les lolos de Lola'' (1976) - Le vendeur d'outils *'' À Nos Amours'' (1983) - Le père *''

'' (1987) - Menou-Segrais (final film role)

References

External links

*
Maurice Pialat Resource
(in French)
Literature on Maurice Pialat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pialat, Maurice 1925 births 2003 deaths People from Puy-de-Dôme French film directors French male film actors Deaths from kidney failure Directors of Palme d'Or winners Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters 20th-century French male actors French television directors 20th-century French male writers