Jean Gremillon

English summary: The author explores the entire work of fiction by the filmmaker Jean Gremillon. After directing a number of documentaries during the 1920s, many now lost, he had his first substantial success with the dramatic feature Maldone in 1928. Over the next quarter-century, he directed twenty more feature films, of which he is best known for five made between 1937 and 1944. This volume showcases the consistency, richness, and especially the modernity of these movies. During his...
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English summary: The author explores the entire work of fiction by the filmmaker Jean Gremillon. After directing a number of documentaries during the 1920s, many now lost, he had his first substantial success with the dramatic feature Maldone in 1928. Over the next quarter-century, he directed twenty more feature films, of which he is best known for five made between 1937 and 1944. This volume showcases the consistency, richness, and especially the modernity of these movies. During his time, Gremillon was the only one to propose diverse and complex female characters, as well as a subtle exploration of the relationships between men and women. French text. French description: Apres les debuts remarquables dans les annees 1920 (Maldone, Gardiens de phare), Jean Gremillon tourne au debut du parlant La Petite Lise, Dainah la metises, puis s'exile avant de retrouver le succes avec Gueule d'amour en 1936, L'Etrange Monsieur Victor, Remorques, Lumiere d'ete et Le Ciel est a vous (1944). Ces quatre films temoignent d'une maitrise remarquable tant dans la direction d'acteurs que dans la mise en scene visuelle et sonore. Son dernier film de fiction, L'Amour d'une femme (1954), exprime un engagement qu'on peut qualifier de feministe. Gremillon meurt prematurement en 1959. Genevieve Sellier explore l'ensemble de l'uvre de fiction du cineaste en montrant sa coherence, sa richesse et surtout sa modernite : a son epoque, Gremillon est le seul a proposer des figures feminines aussi diverses et aussi complexes, et une exploration aussi fine des relations entre hommes et femmes.