Bertrand Blier, the acclaimed French film director known for his dark humor, cynical outlook, and boundary-pushing storytelling, has passed away at the age of 85.
Blier, whose films made an indelible mark on French cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, was celebrated for his unique blend of audacity and artistic innovation.
Blier’s works were renowned for their exploration of unconventional themes, often infused with provocative humor and a keen critique of societal norms.
He is best remembered for the 1979 Oscar-winning romantic comedy Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez Vos Mouchoirs), which explored a ménage-à-trois and took home the Best Foreign-Language Film Award at the Academy Awards.
This film, alongside Blier’s 1974 work Going Places (Les Valseuses), cemented his reputation as a filmmaker unafraid to tackle taboo subjects with irreverent wit.
Going Places, which starred a young Gérard Depardieu alongside Miou-Miou and Patrick Dewaere, was a brazen exploration of two aimless criminals embarking on a spree of crime and sexual escapades across France.
The film marked the beginning of Depardieu’s international career, establishing a longstanding collaboration between the actor and Blier that would continue throughout the director’s career.
Blier’s 1979 masterpiece Get Out Your Handkerchiefs not only earned an Academy Award but also solidified his place in the annals of French cinema. His success continued with Buffet Froid in 1979, for which he won the César Award for Best Screenplay in 1980.
The 1989 film Trop Belle Pour Toi, a black comedy that starred Depardieu, was another major triumph, winning the prestigious Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and five César Awards, shared with Cinema Paradiso.
French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, paid tribute to Blier as “a genius dialogue writer” and a “nonconformist filmmaker” who was fiercely passionate about creative freedom.
“He was an immense filmmaker, a mad lover of the freedom to create,” Dati said, reflecting the reverence Blier earned from his peers and audiences alike.
Jean Dujardin, who worked with Blier on the 2010 film The Clink of Ice, shared heartfelt words on social media, describing him as “a boss, a friend, an inventor in cinema.”
Dujardin continued, “Your poetry, your audacity, your words, your laughter, your silences… you loved actors so much.”
Blier’s works often depicted complex relationships and characters that defied conventional morality.
His films were known for their unapologetic cynicism and a tendency to explore male-female dynamics with an often harsh lens, as former Cannes Film Festival president Gilles Jacob noted.
“As much a writer as a filmmaker, as cynical as provocative, as moralist as blasé, Bertrand Blier loved women, but had them mistreated by his men,” Jacob commented, summarizing Blier’s provocative style.
Blier’s influence on French cinema was undeniable, and his ability to stir controversy while achieving popular success made him one of the most distinctive voices in world cinema.
Olivier Henrard, acting director of the French National Centre for Cinema (CNC), described Blier as “a master of the verb and the absurd, a practitioner of the art of transgression.”
Henrard added that Blier’s audacious approach stirred violent controversy but also led to the enduring success of Les Valseuses, which became a defining moment in the history of French cinema.
Bertrand Blier’s death marks the end of an era in French filmmaking. His bold, innovative vision and refusal to conform to cinematic conventions ensured that his films will remain influential for generations to come.
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