Maurice Pialat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maurice Pialat
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 31 August 1925 Cunlhat, Puy-de-Dôme, France
|
| Died | 11 January 2003 (aged 77) Paris, France
|
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
Maurice Pialat (born August 31, 1925 – died January 11, 2003) was a famous French film director, screenwriter, and actor. He was known for making movies that felt very real and honest. His films often showed everyday life without being overly emotional.
Many people described his work as "realist," meaning it aimed to show things as they truly are. However, some film experts said his style was unique and didn't quite fit the usual definition of realism. Pialat's movies often focused on the lives of ordinary French people, showing both the good and bad parts of their stories.
Contents
Life and Career of Maurice Pialat
Maurice Pialat was born in Cunlhat, a town in France. When he was young, he wanted to be a painter. But he didn't have much success with painting. At 16, he got a camera and started making documentary films. His first important short film was L'amour existe, which he made in 1960.
Pialat started making feature films later in his life. His first full-length movie, L'enfance nue (The Naked Childhood), came out in 1969 when he was 43 years old. This film was partly produced by François Truffaut, a well-known director from the French New Wave movement. The Naked Childhood won an award called the Prix Jean Vigo.
During his 35-year career, Pialat directed ten main feature films. Many of these, like Loulou, seemed to tell parts of his own life story. He worked with the famous French actor Gérard Depardieu in four movies: Loulou, Police, Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan), and Le Garçu (1995).
Pialat won a very important award, the Palme d'Or, at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival for his film Under the Sun of Satan. After he passed away, a film critic named Noël Herpe described Pialat's style as a "naturalism that was born of formalism." This means his films looked very natural, but they were also carefully planned and structured. In English-speaking countries, people often compare his work to that of American director John Cassavetes.
Maurice Pialat's Film Style
Maurice Pialat's films are known for their special style. They often feel very free and natural, but they are also carefully made. He used techniques like "elliptical editing," which means he would sometimes skip parts of a scene to make the story move faster or to make you think about what happened. He also used "long takes," where the camera would film for a long time without cutting.
Film critic Kent Jones explained Pialat's unique way of making movies. He said that Pialat wanted every moment in his films to feel like it was happening "here and now." Pialat was always ready to change his stories to make them feel more like real life experiences. The sudden changes, breaks, and missing parts in his films were meant to make them feel more real and impactful.
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) (1974)
- Graduate First (Passe ton bac d'abord) (1978)
- Loulou (1980)
- À nos amours (1983)
- Police (1985)
- Under the Sun of Satan (Sous le soleil de Satan) (1987)
- Van Gogh (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 (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
- Under the Sun of Satan (1987) - Menou-Segrais (final film role)
See also
In Spanish: Maurice Pialat para niños
