Which film did you see first? He was remarkable. A huge talent. Criterion has A Nous Amour, but you probably know that already.
Of all the good Van Gogh films — Minnelli’s, Altman’s — Pialat’s is the finest.
A nos Amours first, and I was stunned by the honesty of his style; nothing seemed artificial yet he still makes you aware that you’re watching a film. I have not seen the Van Gogh film, but I will look for it on Amazon.fr. Thank god for region free players…
And Pialat + Sandrine Bonnaire = massively, massively brilliant.
Van Gogh is great. Didn’t like Under Satan’s Sun. need to see more.
His earlier work is very demanding- We Won’t Grow Old Together, The Mouth Agape- but that’s not to take anything away from Police, Van Gogh or Loulou. Pialat spoke highly of Cassavetes. Perhaps it was Cassavetes’ blunt physicality and actor-centric work he admired. Pialat makes me long for 1:166 aspect ratio, the 50mm lens and monaural sound. I’m probably in the minority, but most filmmaking is just a cacophonous mess. You know he was a painter, and it shows in his films. Not in the glib way of being “painterly” in his shooting, any dolt can do that, but in the ability to bear down on an image, to subject it to intense scrutiny, to look at harsh subject matter unflinchingly, and without concern for comfort and explanation. Through film he became a poet.
The few films of his which are available as dvd will have to suffice, but it would be tremendous to be able to have access to all of them.
his film loulou redefined the way i see gerard depardieu…it made him into a hulking inarticulate anamalistic ball of violent emotion…a truly powerful film.
We Won’t Grow Old Together is riding high in the Longlist poll voting; one i need to see. I especially like L’Enfance Nue, a compassionate, moving and realistic look at fostering and a troubled child’s testing behaviour. L’Amour Existe is a very elegant short from the early 60s. I expected better of Mouth Agape and A Nos Amours.
A nos amours was the first I’d seen and since, I’ve been obsessed. The Mouth Agape was one I didn’t connect with upon first viewing. But through each viewing it had become one of the best for me. I also like passé ton bac d’abord for the document feel of it.
L’Enfance Nue is one of my favorite films. I really want to see the television documentaries he filmed about Istanbul in the 1960s.
Hold fast my friend. I’m doing a fairly large write up on Pialat’s work which will include complete videos of his Turkish films. There has yet to be a definitive thread on Pialat so I’ve decided to do one. Will be up soon.
Looking forward to it Tommy!
Mark Penny
Recently discovered him and I cannot get enough of his films; I’m importing them from any country I can find them in.