19/07/2010

From the French President to the Culture Minister, in France reactions and tributes have been pouring in since the announcement on Saturday, July 17 of the death of actor-director-writer Bernard Giraudeau, aged 63.

From mainstream cinema to auteur films, the actor – who had been battling against illness for the past ten years – enjoyed a big-screen career stretching from 1973-2005, including almost 50 features (two of which he directed). He was nominated four times for the Best Supporting Actor Cesar for Pierre Granier-Deferre’s The Medic in 1980, Patrice Leconte’s Ridicule in 1995, Nicole Garcia’s The Favourite Son in 1997 and Bernard Rapp’s A Matter of Taste in 2001.

Having started in José Giovanni’s Two Men In Town, alongside Jean Gabin and Alain Delon, Giraudeau’s career took off at the start of the 1980s and he established himself as a sure box office bet with popular films like Leconte’s The Specialists and Viens Chez Moi, J’habite Chez Une Copine (“Come To My Place, I’m Living At My Girlfriend’s House”) and Gilles Béhat’s Barbarous Street.

At the same time, he made a name for himself in auteur films, including Ettore Scola’s Passion of Love, Daniel Schmid’s Hécate and Maroun Bagdati’s L'Homme Voilé (“The Veiled Man”, in competition at Venice in 1987). He continued his career with films including Olivier Assayas’s A New Life (1993), François Ozon’s Water Drops on Burning Rocks (in competition at Berlin in 2000) and Claude Miller’s Little Lili and Raoul Ruiz’s That Day (both in competition at Cannes in 2003).

Giraudeau also directed two narrative features: L'autre (“The Other”, nominated for the Best Debut Film Cesar 1991) and Unpredictable Nature of the River (two Cesar nominations in 1997 for Best Cinematography and Best Score).

(Translated from French)