Jean-Jacques Beineix(1946-2022)
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Director
A rabid movie fan when he was young, Jean-Jacques Beineix first studied
medicine before entering the movie business. During the seventies, he
became an established assistant director, working with
Claude Berri,
René Clément,
Claude Zidi and even
Jerry Lewis. But, like many
assistants, Beineix's ultimate dream was to direct. He had a pass at it
in 1977 with the short
Le chien de Monsieur Michel (1977).
A promising debut, it won the first price at Trouville Festival and
earned a César nomination for best short film (fiction).
In 1981, came his first long feature
Diva (1981), a stylish thriller based on a
book by Delacorta. When it came out, Diva was not supported by French
critics and seemed at first well on its way to crash and burn. But
slowly the film gained momentum due to good word of mouth and positive
reactions in various festivals like Moscow and Toronto. Ultimately, the
film became a great success internationally, winning four Césars along
the way.
Next came the expensive
The Moon in the Gutter (1983).
An adaptation of a David Goodis novel, the
film was even more radical than 'Diva' in its deliberate artificiality.
Premiering in competition at the 36th Cannes Film Festival in 1983, the film was booed and most
critics found it pretentious and boring. Only few voices rose up to
defend the movie but it was not enough to save it. It flopped at the
box office but manage to win one César for set design.
At that point, Beineix's career was in serious danger of biting the
dust, but he came back in force in 1986 with
Betty Blue (1986) (aka 'Betty
Blue'), based on a 'Philippe Djian' novel. Despite mixed reviews, the
film was another international hit, won the top price at Montréal
festival, and was nominated for best foreign film at both the Oscars
and Golden Globes, each time losing to Fons Rademakers' 'De Aanslag'.
It also earned 9 César nominations including best film and best
director ... but won only for best poster !
Beineix's next movie
Roselyne and the Lions (1989),
set in the circus world, came and went unnoticed. In 1992,
IP5: The Island of Pachyderms (1992)
got attention mostly for being
Yves Montand's last role. Beineix then
resurfaced where he was least expected with social documentaries. He
did a film about children in Romania;
Otaku (1994) was shot in Japan;
Assigné à résidence (1997)
was about locked-in syndrome victim
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
In 2001, he came back to fiction with
Mortal Transfer (2001), a
psycho-thriller based on a
Jean-Pierre Gattegno
novel. Once again, critics were lukewarm and the film performed poorly
at the box-office. In 2002, however, Beineix drew strong ratings with
made for TV documentary
Loft Paradoxe (2002), an
attempt to analyse the success of reality show
'Loft Story'.
With his intense focus on the power of images, Beineix paved the way for
directors like Luc Besson,
Leos Carax and
Jean-Pierre Jeunet. A self-proclaimed
misanthropist who never hid his contempt for producers and was often
deemed excessive and irascible, he will go down in the history books as
a director who raised controversy not for the subjects he tackled but
for his stylistic approach. Still, with
Diva (1981) and
Betty Blue (1986), he directed
two of the few French films of the eighties that reached an
international audience.
medicine before entering the movie business. During the seventies, he
became an established assistant director, working with
Claude Berri,
René Clément,
Claude Zidi and even
Jerry Lewis. But, like many
assistants, Beineix's ultimate dream was to direct. He had a pass at it
in 1977 with the short
Le chien de Monsieur Michel (1977).
A promising debut, it won the first price at Trouville Festival and
earned a César nomination for best short film (fiction).
In 1981, came his first long feature
Diva (1981), a stylish thriller based on a
book by Delacorta. When it came out, Diva was not supported by French
critics and seemed at first well on its way to crash and burn. But
slowly the film gained momentum due to good word of mouth and positive
reactions in various festivals like Moscow and Toronto. Ultimately, the
film became a great success internationally, winning four Césars along
the way.
Next came the expensive
The Moon in the Gutter (1983).
An adaptation of a David Goodis novel, the
film was even more radical than 'Diva' in its deliberate artificiality.
Premiering in competition at the 36th Cannes Film Festival in 1983, the film was booed and most
critics found it pretentious and boring. Only few voices rose up to
defend the movie but it was not enough to save it. It flopped at the
box office but manage to win one César for set design.
At that point, Beineix's career was in serious danger of biting the
dust, but he came back in force in 1986 with
Betty Blue (1986) (aka 'Betty
Blue'), based on a 'Philippe Djian' novel. Despite mixed reviews, the
film was another international hit, won the top price at Montréal
festival, and was nominated for best foreign film at both the Oscars
and Golden Globes, each time losing to Fons Rademakers' 'De Aanslag'.
It also earned 9 César nominations including best film and best
director ... but won only for best poster !
Beineix's next movie
Roselyne and the Lions (1989),
set in the circus world, came and went unnoticed. In 1992,
IP5: The Island of Pachyderms (1992)
got attention mostly for being
Yves Montand's last role. Beineix then
resurfaced where he was least expected with social documentaries. He
did a film about children in Romania;
Otaku (1994) was shot in Japan;
Assigné à résidence (1997)
was about locked-in syndrome victim
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
In 2001, he came back to fiction with
Mortal Transfer (2001), a
psycho-thriller based on a
Jean-Pierre Gattegno
novel. Once again, critics were lukewarm and the film performed poorly
at the box-office. In 2002, however, Beineix drew strong ratings with
made for TV documentary
Loft Paradoxe (2002), an
attempt to analyse the success of reality show
'Loft Story'.
With his intense focus on the power of images, Beineix paved the way for
directors like Luc Besson,
Leos Carax and
Jean-Pierre Jeunet. A self-proclaimed
misanthropist who never hid his contempt for producers and was often
deemed excessive and irascible, he will go down in the history books as
a director who raised controversy not for the subjects he tackled but
for his stylistic approach. Still, with
Diva (1981) and
Betty Blue (1986), he directed
two of the few French films of the eighties that reached an
international audience.