Developments and Trends of Contemporary French Cinema Identifiable in Gerard Depardieu’s Work By Emma Din

Project Thesis For my midterm project, I began studying Depardieu's acting career and examining correlations between it and developments in contemporary European cinema. Through an exploration and observation of five films (Les Valseuses, Police, Jean de Florette, Tous Les Matins du Monde, and Paris je t’aime), I will chart French cinema developments and changes that have taken place from the 1970s to the present in Depardieu’s films.

SELECTED FILMS

Sources of FILM CLIPS Les Valseuses (1974) Two whimsical, aimless thugs harass and assault women, steal, murder, and alternately charm, fight, or sprint their way out of trouble. They take whatever the bourgeois characters value: whether it's cars, peace of mind, or daughters. Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor. She's on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure. Jean de Florette (1986) In a rural French village an old man and his only remaining relative cast their covetous eyes on an adjoining vacant property. They need its spring water for growing their flowers, so are dismayed to hear the man who has inherited it is moving in. They block up the spring and watch as their new neighbour tries to keep his crops watered from wells far afield through the hot summer. Though they see his desperate efforts are breaking his health and his wife and daughter's hearts they think only of getting the water. Paris Je t’aime (2006) Paris, je t'aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers bring their own personal touch, underlining the wide variety of styles, genres, encounters and the various atmospheres and lifestyles that prevail in the neighborhoods of Paris. Each director was given five minutes of freedom, and the producers carried out the responsibility of weaving a single narrative unit out of those twenty moments.

French Cinema of 1970s New cultural era following the May 1968 upheavals throughout France and the so-called liberalization movement era and cultural change. 3 Major Film Movements: 1)The “political thriller” (which gradually began to replace conventional polar/whodunits) 2)The arrival of talented new story tellers (Bertrand Tavernier, Bertrand Blier) 3)Trend of humanist film directors (Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Claude Sautet)

French cinema of 1980s Begins with economic restructuring of French film industry and its new rapport with its principal partner, television companies. Decade also witnessed the development of so-called super productions, inclined toward more profitable commercial films, as well as out-of-control rise of production costs. Some Trends: 1)French heritage cinema: obsession with French landscape 2)Pialat: unostentatious camerawork; no non-diegetic music; omission of spectacular sexuality or violence associated with new 1980s polar; rejection of classical narrative techniques

French Cinema: 1990 to now Central position of French film industry, which has established itself as the largest and most successful in Europe. Financial aid system combined with financial banking of Canal + and other TV companies highlights successful strategy begun in 80s. Many new filmmakers. Trends: 1)Breaking of national stereotypes and redefining concept of foreigner 2)Appealing to intellectual community’s appetite for innovative artistic techniques to gain acceptance for cosmopolitan ideas 3)Using historical and classical references to create contemporary parables