Catherine Breillat
Encyclopedia
Catherine Breillat is a French
filmmaker, novelist and Professor of Auteur Cinema at the European Graduate School
.
, Deux-Sèvres
, but grew up in Niort
. She decided to become a writer and director at the age of 12 after watching Ingmar Bergman
's Gycklarnas afton, believing she had found her "'fictional body'" in Harriet Andersson
's character, Anna.
She started her career after studying acting at Yves Furet "Studio d'Entraînement de l'Acteur" in Paris together with her sister, actress Marie-Hélène Breillat (born 2 June 1947) in 1967. At the age of 17, she had her novel, l'Homme facile, (Easy Man) published. Ironically the French government banned it for readers under 18 years old. A film based on the novel was made shortly after the publication of the book, but the producer went bankrupt and the distributor Artedis
blocked any commercial release of the film for twenty years although it had been given an R rating. .
Breillat is known for films focusing on sexuality, intimacy, gender conflict and sibling rivalry. Breillat has been the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality and violence. She cast the pornstar Rocco Siffredi
in her films Romance
(Romance X, 1999) and Anatomie de l'enfer (Anatomy of Hell
, 2004). Her novels have been best-sellers.
Her work has been associated with the Cinéma du corps/Cinema of the Body tendency.
In an interview with Senses of Cinema
, she described David Cronenberg
as another filmmaker she considers to have a similar approach to sexuality in film.
Though Breillat spends most of her time behind the camera, she has been in a handful of movies, making her film debut in 1972 as Mouchette in Bernardo Bertolucci
's Last Tango in Paris
.
In 2004, Breillat suffered a stroke.
In 2007 she directed Asia Argento
in The Last Mistress
. She described to Screen Comment's Ali Naderzad the process behind creating a wardrobe for the film: "For the film's first scene I inspired myself with Goya, evidently, but also by a pencil drawing of the Duchess D'Albe
shaking her hair, totally torrid and modern. So that was an inspiration, and also Marlene Dietrich
, of course. The artist has the right to put his imprint, which is to create fantasy. To be merely a historian isn't enough."
A friend of hers, Christophe Rocancourt, a con artist, was to play a role in the upcoming film "Bad Love". However, in 2009 she accused him of taking advantage of her handicap by embezzling €650,000. Breillat documented the incident in her book, published in 2009, called "Abus de faiblesse" (Abuse of Weakness).
As of 2010, Breillat is almost fully recovered from her stroke and still intends to film Bad Love with Naomi Campbell
in a lead role. Departing from her native French, Breillat plans for the dialogue in the movie to be in both English and Chinese. In September 2010, Breillat's second fairy-tale based film, Sleeping Beauty (La belle endormie), opened in the Orizzonti sidebar in the 67th Venice Film Festival
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
filmmaker, novelist and Professor of Auteur Cinema at the European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
.
Life and career
Breillat was born in BressuireBressuire
Bressuire is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in France. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton.-Notable buildings:...
, Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres is a French département. Deux-Sèvres literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department.-History:...
, but grew up in Niort
Niort
Niort is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.The Latin name of the city was Novioritum.The population of Niort is 60,486 and more than 137,000 people live in the urban area....
. She decided to become a writer and director at the age of 12 after watching Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's Gycklarnas afton, believing she had found her "'fictional body'" in Harriet Andersson
Harriet Andersson
Harriet Andersson is a Swedish actress, known outside Sweden for being part of one of director Ingmar Bergman's stock company....
's character, Anna.
She started her career after studying acting at Yves Furet "Studio d'Entraînement de l'Acteur" in Paris together with her sister, actress Marie-Hélène Breillat (born 2 June 1947) in 1967. At the age of 17, she had her novel, l'Homme facile, (Easy Man) published. Ironically the French government banned it for readers under 18 years old. A film based on the novel was made shortly after the publication of the book, but the producer went bankrupt and the distributor Artedis
Artédis
Artédis is a French film distributor founded in 1983. The company releases four to six films a year, and concentrates mainly on releasing European fare...
blocked any commercial release of the film for twenty years although it had been given an R rating. .
Breillat is known for films focusing on sexuality, intimacy, gender conflict and sibling rivalry. Breillat has been the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality and violence. She cast the pornstar Rocco Siffredi
Rocco Siffredi
Rocco Siffredi is the stage name of an Italian pornographic actor, director and producer of pornographic movies, famous for his rough sex scenes...
in her films Romance
Romance (1999 film)
Romance is a 1999 French movie written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes, especially one showing Caroline Ducey's coitus with Rocco Siffredi...
(Romance X, 1999) and Anatomie de l'enfer (Anatomy of Hell
Anatomy of Hell
Anatomy of Hell is a 2004 film by Catherine Breillat. The film was adapted by writer/director Breillat from her novel Pornocracy. The explicitly sexual film stars Amira Casar as "the woman" and porn star Rocco Siffredi as "the man". Renowned movie critic Leonard Maltin's review of the film was...
, 2004). Her novels have been best-sellers.
Her work has been associated with the Cinéma du corps/Cinema of the Body tendency.
In an interview with Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many...
, she described David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
as another filmmaker she considers to have a similar approach to sexuality in film.
Though Breillat spends most of her time behind the camera, she has been in a handful of movies, making her film debut in 1972 as Mouchette in Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
.
In 2004, Breillat suffered a stroke.
In 2007 she directed Asia Argento
Asia Argento
Aria Asia Anna Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento is an Italian actress, singer, model and director.-Family and early life:...
in The Last Mistress
The Last Mistress
-Bibliography:Anne-Elisabeth Blateau, "Une vieille maîtresse sans Breillat" , in Carré d'Art : Barbey d'Aurevilly, Byron, Dali, Hallier, by Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme éd., Paris, 2008, pp. 143-149.-External links:...
. She described to Screen Comment's Ali Naderzad the process behind creating a wardrobe for the film: "For the film's first scene I inspired myself with Goya, evidently, but also by a pencil drawing of the Duchess D'Albe
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain is the current head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right...
shaking her hair, totally torrid and modern. So that was an inspiration, and also Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, of course. The artist has the right to put his imprint, which is to create fantasy. To be merely a historian isn't enough."
A friend of hers, Christophe Rocancourt, a con artist, was to play a role in the upcoming film "Bad Love". However, in 2009 she accused him of taking advantage of her handicap by embezzling €650,000. Breillat documented the incident in her book, published in 2009, called "Abus de faiblesse" (Abuse of Weakness).
As of 2010, Breillat is almost fully recovered from her stroke and still intends to film Bad Love with Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
in a lead role. Departing from her native French, Breillat plans for the dialogue in the movie to be in both English and Chinese. In September 2010, Breillat's second fairy-tale based film, Sleeping Beauty (La belle endormie), opened in the Orizzonti sidebar in the 67th Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
.
Filmography
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | A Real Young Girl A Real Young Girl A Real Young Girl is a 1976 French drama about a 14-year-old girl's sexual awakening, written and directed by Catherine Breillat. The film, Breillat's first, was based on her fourth novel, Le Soupirail.... |
Une Vraie Jeune Fille | Based on Breillat's own novel Le Soupirail. Banned after initial premiere, until 1999. |
| 1979 | Nocturnal Uproar | Tapage nocturne | |
| 1987 | Milan noir Milan noir Milan noir is a 1987 French thriller film directed by Ronald Chammah and starring Isabelle Huppert.-Cast:* Isabelle Huppert - Sarah* Joaquim de Almeida - Tremaine* David Warrilow - Moran* Jean Benguigui - De Giorgi* Hanns Zischler - Hardy... |
Writer | |
| 1988 | Virgin 36 Fillette 36 Fillette is a 1988 French film starring Delphine Zentout and Oliver Parniere, directed by Catherine Breillat. It is the story of a sexually-curious and rebellious 14-year-old who has an emotionally-charged and dually-manipulative relationship with an older man.-Plot:Lili, a pouty and voluptuous... |
36 Fillette | Based on her novel. |
| 1991 | Dirty Like an Angel | Sale comme un ange | |
| 1996 | Perfect Love | Parfait amour! | |
| 1999 | Romance Romance (1999 film) Romance is a 1999 French movie written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes, especially one showing Caroline Ducey's coitus with Rocco Siffredi... |
Romance | |
| 2001 | Fat Girl Fat Girl À ma sœur! is a 2001 French film directed by Catherine Breillat and starring Roxane Mesquida. It was released in some English speaking countries under the alternative titles For My Sister or Fat Girl.... |
À ma sœur! | |
| 2001 | Brief Crossing Brief Crossing Brief Crossing is a French film released in 2001 and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Sarah Pratt and Gilles Guillain.... |
Brève traversée | |
| 2002 | Sex Is Comedy Sex is Comedy Sex Is Comedy is a 2002 French film written and directed by Catherine Breillat.-Overview:Sex Is Comedy revolves around a director and her troubles filming an intimate sex scene between two actors who cannot tolerate each other.... |
Sex Is Comedy | |
| 2004 | Anatomy of Hell Anatomy of Hell Anatomy of Hell is a 2004 film by Catherine Breillat. The film was adapted by writer/director Breillat from her novel Pornocracy. The explicitly sexual film stars Amira Casar as "the woman" and porn star Rocco Siffredi as "the man". Renowned movie critic Leonard Maltin's review of the film was... |
Anatomie de l'enfer | Based on her novel Pornocratie. |
| 2007 | The Last Mistress The Last Mistress -Bibliography:Anne-Elisabeth Blateau, "Une vieille maîtresse sans Breillat" , in Carré d'Art : Barbey d'Aurevilly, Byron, Dali, Hallier, by Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme éd., Paris, 2008, pp. 143-149.-External links:... (aka An Old Mistress) |
Une vieille maîtresse | Based on the novel by Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anything supernatural... (1851), entered into the 2007 Cannes Film Festival 2007 Cannes Film Festival The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed... . |
| 2009 | Bluebeard Bluebeard (2009 film) Bluebeard is a 2009 French film directed by Catherine Breillat.-Plot:In the 1950s, Catherine toys with her older sister, Marie-Anne by reading her the story of Bluebeard which scares her. As Catherine rereads the story, the film moves to 1697, where two sisters, Marie-Catherine and Anne have... |
Barbe bleue | Based on the tale by Charles Perrault Charles Perrault Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue... |
| 2010 | Sleeping beauty | La Belle Endormie | Based on the tale Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince... by Charles Perrault Charles Perrault Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue... |
| 2011 | Bad Love | Bad Love | Based on her novel of the same name. (2007) |
External links
- Catherine Breillat Faculty Page at European Graduate SchoolEuropean Graduate SchoolThe European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
(Biography, bibliography, lectures and videos) - Catherine Breillat bibliography via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
- A Salon interview with Catherine Breillat
- Salon review of "Romance"
- indiewire review of "Romance"
- Rewriting Fairy Tales, Revisiting Female Identity: An Interview with Catherine Breillat, Maria Garcia, Cineaste, Summer 2011