Benoît Jacquot

Biography: life and films

Benoît Jacquot was born in Paris on 5th February 1947. He began his career at the age of 17 by working as an assistant to the director Bernard Borderie on the popular Angélique series of films in the mid-1960s. He subsequently worked as an assistant for Marguerite Duras on Nathalie Granger (1972) and India Song (1975). He made his directing debut with L'Assassin musicien (1976), a Dostoevsky adaptation that appeared to be strongly influenced by Robert Bresson. Critical reaction to this and Jacquot's next few films was mixed and he was on the point of giving up filmmaking when a 15 year-old ingénue, Judith Godrèche, suddenly entered his life.

With Godrèche in the lead role, La Désenchantée (1990) marked a significant turning point for Jacquot. It was the first of the kind of film for which he is now best known, intimate realist portraits of rebellious or unsettled women who seek to escape from their present circumstances. Jacquot's next muse would be Virginie Ledoyen in La Fille seule (1995), a real time drama that employs long takes as it follows the central protagonist through her day as a busy hotel maid. The critics responded enthusiastically to this unusual but compelling film and Jacquot soon came to be regarded as one of France's most promising auteur filmmakers.

Benoît Jacquot's style of cinema is often characterised as austere, realist and intimate, but the director has also shown a flair for experimentation. La Fille seule is an exemplary attempt at a 'continuous action' film; La Fausse Suivante (2000) is the ultimate in minimalist cinema, a film staged and directed as a piece of theatre; Tosca (2001) is no more than a filmed opera; À tout de suite (2004) was boldly filmed à la Nouvelle Vague, in grainy black and white. As well as a fair number of modest productions, Jacquot has directed several big budget films with big name actors. The latter include two impressive period dramas: Sade (2000), starring Daniel Auteuil, and Les Adieux à la reine (2011), which received the Prix Louis Delluc and was nominated for ten Césars, winning awards for its cinematography, set and costume design.

With an impressive body of work under his belt (including some notable television and stage work), Benoît Jacquot is one of France's most committed and creative auteur filmmakers. Isabelle Huppert is the actress Jacquot has worked with most often (five times so far), their most successful collaborations being L'École de la chair (1998) and Villa Amalia (2009). The other leading French actresses to grace his films include: Isabelle Adjani (Adolphe), Sandrine Kiberlain (Le Septième Ciel) and Isild Le Besco (À tout de suite). Whilst some of Jacquot's films are challenging and occasionally provocative, they invariably resound with truth and are honest, sincerely meant reflections on the human condition, carried by remarkable performances from some talented actors.

Filmography