Oh bless you for calling Malle your favorite director. I’ve always KIND OF felt alone in my love for the man (though someone at Criterion obviously shares my love for him)… no one seems to talk about him enough. The man’s work was extremely differentiating, I think, is the problem with his legacy, in that it’s made it hard to recognize the director’s signature. When you look at a Godard film or a Lynch film, you can usually tell right away. The mise en scene is very clear and distinct. It’s a little harder with Malle. That said, the man has themes, but alas, I have no time to get into them right now as I have to get ready for the day. But hey, Terrence Malick spent time with Malle towards the end of his life – So at least one of the contemporary(?) Greats also acknowledges Malle as worthwhile and that’s good enough for me! Thanks again for showing some love for a great filmmaker! ; )
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Thank you alex! if you could take any time to mention some of his themes, I would be very happy to read :)
Just a suggestion Maria.
Maybe you should give us your definition of auteur. Auteur theory has been discussed here ad nauseam.
Pretty much anyone could be an auteur if a style was detectable (over an oeuvre?).
Give us a list of what you think his themes have been by film.
Well: youth/maturation, loss of innocence, coming of age, family, coming from a financially sound background (bourgeois as it is often referred to as), sexuality often finds a way to make an appearance in his films one way or another, a distaste for apathy, being a black sheep or loner, harsh realities of life, World War II…
Hey, probably too late, but I just found this little tidbit too: “I suppose with Zazie I discovered what has possibly been my main theme in films like Lacombe Lucien, Le Souffle au Coeur, Au Revoir Les Enfants, and certainly Pretty Baby too – at the center of the film is a child, an adolescent, who is exposed to the hypocrisy and corruption of the world of grown ups.” -Malle, ‘Malle on Malle’
Maria
I’m currently having to do a research on Louis Malle for my film course and I’ve been asked to do some “primary” research. It would be interesting to see what people think about whether Louis Malle should be seen as an auteur or not and how his themes do, even if subtly, appear in his work. I admire Malle very much and can easily call him my favourite director of all time but it will also be helpful to here what other people have to say