In the 1980s, Jean-Jacques Beineix was one of the most fashionable French directors: from his first film, Diva, he managed to charm the critics and win several Césars. But it’s really in 1986, with 37°2 in the morning that it is a real success with the public.
“37°2 in the morning” (1986)
Zorg, thirty-five years old, is beginning to have some life experience, he has come back from a lot of things and is about to breathe a little. It’s this moment that Betty chooses to disembark with her suitcases, her heart in “mauve leatherette” and not even a train ticket…
A film that will mark its time. For the beauty of its landscapes, for its music in a few piano notes, but obviously above all for its torrid scenes and the discovery of two pearls of French cinema: Béatrice Dalle and Jean-Hugues Anglade. Tthird feature film by Jean-Jacques Beineix 37°2 in the morning is one of the greatest hits of 1986, despite its ban on children under 16: pMore than 3.6 million spectators came to discover this story carried by the two still unknown actors. Nominated in several categories at the Césars, the Oscars and the Golden Globes, he finally only received the César for best poster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3NG2NqyaY
“Diva” (1981)
A young postman in love with bel canto makes a bootleg recording of a concert given by a diva. His passion and an unfortunate coincidence will provoke a manhunt of which he is the prey.
With Diva, Jean-Jacques Beineix signs his first feature film. This one divided on its release before experiencing great success in theaters. The main aria of the opera The Wally Alfredo Catalini, played several times in the film, knows thanks to him, a surge of popularity. In 1982, Diva was awarded four Césars: best first work, best music, best photography and best sound.
“The Moon in the Gutter” (1983)
After being raped in a standoff, Catherine commits suicide. Gérard, her brother, swears to avenge her. This is the beginning of a great drift that will lead him to meet various characters in the slums of a port.
With Gérard Depardieu in the leading role, accompanied by Victoria Abril, this second film by the director does not manage to reach the same enthusiasm as the first. Selected at the Cannes Film Festival, The moon in the gutter was a commercial failure but was hailed by critics for the cold beauty of its images and the intense performance of its actors. All the costumes worn in the film are signed Marc Bohan, a great French couturier from the house of Dior.
“IP5: the island of pachyderms” (1993)
Two taggers out of luck meet, during the theft of a car, an old man who travels through France with a backpack and a map where all the lakes are circled with a red mark. In his backpack, an old Luger in the magazine of which two bullets are waiting. The old man leads the two youngsters on his quest and they soon realize that they are looking for the same thing.
IP5 is the last film by Yves Montand who dies before the end of shooting. On November 9, 1991, the singer and actor died of a myocardial infarction at the age of 70 (like the character he played). The film is nevertheless finished, with the help of a double, but makes people talk when it comes out. For the needs of the scenario, protected by a diving suit under his clothes, Yves Montand had to bathe, at the end of September, in an icy lake. Several fans then accuse Jean-Jacques Beineix of having caused the death of the artist. A theory that has always been denied by the widow of the artist, Carole Amiel.
“House arrest” (1997) – documentary
Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of the magazine She, suffered a stroke on December 8, 1995. After a long coma, he regained consciousness, but he suffered from confinement syndrome. This attack deprived him of all his physical abilities, except the blinking of the left eyelid. With the help of the editor Claude Mendibil, Jean-Dominique Bauby completes his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by this only means of communication that remains to him.
The writer Jean-Dominique Baudy, at the center of the documentary, died a few months after it was broadcast on France 2. Ten years later, Julian Schnabel adapted The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at the cinema, with Mathieu Amalric in the main role.