For moviegoers as well as for his friends of the 7th Art, this is very sad news. Jean-Louis Trintignant died at the age of 91 this Friday, June 17, in his house in Gard, surrounded by his family. When his death was announced, several tributes poured in, such as that of his ex-wife, director Nadine Trintignant.
Another sacred monster of French cinema, Alain Delon did not fail to react as well. The actor, truly devastated to see his colleagues leave one by one, said in a short message sent to AFP: “After Belmondo [mort en septembre 2021, ndlr]another brother leaving and I’m upset.” Alain Delon, now 86 years old and who spends most of his time at his property in Douchy (Loiret), had shot with Jean-Louis Trintignant in the film Cop Story by Jacques Deray (1975). The actor will unfortunately not have the opportunity to salute his memory one last time since, as revealed by his widow Mariane Hoepfner Trintignant, his funeral will be held in an intimate setting. There will a priori be no public ceremony and even less a national tribute.
Made cinema history with the cult film A man and a woman by Claude Lelouch, where he plays a racing driver in love with Anouk Aimée, he won an interpretation prize at Cannes for Z by Costa Gavras in 1969 and a César for best actor for Love (2012) by Michael Haneke, film awarded a Palme d’or. His last appearance on the big screen was in 2019 with The best years of a life, where he found his partner Anouk Aimée and director Claude Lelouch. Jean-Louis Trintignant, who had been affected by prostate cancer and diabetes, also made an appearance, facing the camera, during the Cesar 2021 ceremony, where he appeared very weak.
His life was marked by several tragedies including the death of his daughter Marie, also an actress, killed in 2003 by her companion, the singer Bertrand Cantat. Drama which had caused a stir in France and highlighted the violence against women.