Jean-Jacques Rousseau (author-filmmaker)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (author-filmmaker)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a Belgian absurdist film director. He was born in Souvret (Courcelles) after the Second World War. He defends "popular" cinema, filming with very small budgets (2000 to 2500 per film), and using unknown or non-professional actors. He calls himself "the director of the absurd".

His films drift between realism and surrealism, and are often shown at film festivals of the genre.

His life will be the subject of Yann Moix's next film, called "Palme d'or", starring Benoît Poelvoorde. [fr icon http://www.ecranlarge.com/interview-63.php]

Overview

Rousseau's first few films were fairly conventional examples of the fantasy genre. However, some of them won regional awards in the 1970s (people's choice, best screenplay), promising a bright future for the 20-year-old filmmaker.

A semi-permanent lack of financial resources prevented him from making technically accomplished films. However, he financed, edited, directed and acted in most of them.

Having a fertile imagination fueled by esoteric tastes in books, his films shunned the mainstream more and more, thus becoming marginalised. He never received subsidies to finance his films. Patrick Moriau, a Belgian politician, once said "If one asked me to allocate part of the Walloon Community's finances to the Committee for Film Selection, the money would undoubtedly never go into Rousseau's pockets. He may be a kind man, but his films are frankly wild and scare people."

Rousseau befriended the anarchist artist Noël Godin around a decade ago, and his technique has since imroved considerably, making his films more accessible.

Filmography

* "Igor Yaboutich" (1964)
* "Le Poignard maudit" (1965)
* "Les Malfaiteurs" (1966)
* "La Vallée de la Sûre" (1966)
* "L'Abstrait" (1968)
* "Le Cauchemar" (1969)
* "Germaine Grandieu" (1972)
* "Les Compagnons de justice" (1974)
* "Le Reposoir" (1975)
* "Les Immortels" (1975)
* "Catalepsie" (1976)
* "L'étoile du mal" (1977)
* "Dossier Réincarnation" (1977)
* "Les Marcheurs de la grande armée" (1978)
* "The Diabolical Dr. Flak" (1978)
* "L'histoire du cinéma 16" (1983)
* "Cannes année européenne du cinéma" (1988)
* "Ciné effet" (1988)
* "Massacre au pied de biche"
* "Les Incubes d'Escargnole"
* "Xeno-Zenit"
* "Furor Teutonicus" (1999)
* "Road Movie" (2001)
* "Wallonie 2084" (2003)
* "Irkutz 88" (2004)
* "La Revanche du sacristain cannibale" (2004)
* "Le Chasseur de succubes" (2005)
* "La mécanique du rasoir" (2006)
* "L'invasion des succubes" (2006)
* "Rock Mendès" (2007)

Frédéric Sojcher's film "Cinéastes à tout prix", selected and shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, is dedicated to Rousseau's work as well as Max Naveaux's and Jacques Hardy's. It stars the actors Bouli Lanners and Benoît Poelvoorde.

External links

* [http://homeusers.brutele.be/infojjr/ Official website]
* [http://www.luff.ch/site/fr/cinema/jean-jacques-rousseau/ Rousseau on the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival's website]
* [http://www.e-novateur.org/detail_article.php?VARid=1037 Interview]
* [http://www.ecranlarge.com/interview-98.php Ecran Large Interview: "The Belgian Ed Wood"]

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rousseau (surname) — Rousseau is a French surname and may refer to: Arts* Eugène Rousseau (artist) (1827–1891), French glass and ceramics artist * Eugene Rousseau (saxophonist) (born 1932), American saxophonist * Frederick Rousseau (born 1958), French musician *… …   Wikipedia

  • Jean (given name) — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Jean imagesize= caption= pronunciation= gender = Male in French speaking countries, Female in English speaking countries meaning = region = origin = related names = male: John, Sean, Yann, Juan, Johan, Jan female …   Wikipedia

  • literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …   Universalium

  • Le Plus Grand Français — de tous les temps (The Greatest Frenchman of all Time) was a France 2 show of early 2005, based on an original series of Great Britons on the BBC. The show asked the French viewers who they thought was the Greatest Frenchman or Frenchwoman. It… …   Wikipedia

  • anarchism — /an euhr kiz euhm/, n. 1. a doctrine urging the abolition of government or governmental restraint as the indispensable condition for full social and political liberty. 2. the methods or practices of anarchists, as the use of violence to undermine …   Universalium

  • List of French people — This is a list of French people of note.Actors/actressesA*Isabelle Adjani *Renée Adorée *Anouk Aimée *Arletty *Antonin Artaud *Fanny Ardant *Jeanne Aubert *Jean Louis Aubert *Jean Pierre Aumont *Claude Autant Lara *Daniel Auteuil *Charles… …   Wikipedia

  • Spain — /spayn/, n. a kingdom in SW Europe. Including the Balearic and Canary islands, 39,244,195; 194,988 sq. mi. (505,019 sq. km). Cap.: Madrid. Spanish, España. * * * Spain Introduction Spain Background: Spain s powerful world empire of the 16th and… …   Universalium

  • Meanings of minor planet names: 2501–3000 — As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU s Minor Planet Center, and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU s naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets …   Wikipedia

  • June 28 — In common years it is always in ISO week 26.This date is the only date each year where both the month and day are different perfect numbers.Events*1098 Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. *1389 Ottomans defeat Serbian army in… …   Wikipedia

  • Spanish literature — Introduction       the body of literary works produced in Spain. Such works fall into three major language divisions: Castilian, Catalan, and Galician. This article provides a brief historical account of each of these three literatures and… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”