Memorial｜Trantignan: He played a classic all his life

French cinema has lost a gem again. The veteran film actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, who has been in the movies for more than 60 years and left countless masterpieces, died on June 17, local time, at his home in the south of France at the age of 91.

Jean-Louis Tradignan attends the premiere of the main competition film "Happy Ending" during the 70th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on May 22, 2017. People's Vision

Trandignan has starred in classic masterpieces such as "God Created Woman", "One Night at Maud's House", "A Man and a Woman", "Focus News", "The Congruent", "Red, White and Blue Trilogy: Red" and "Love". , has cooperated with world-renowned directors such as Bertolucci, Truffaut, Rohmer, Le Rouche, Kieslowski, Haneke, etc. It can be said that it is the history of the development of French films and even European films in the past few decades. important witnesses and witnesses.
Jean-Louis Tradignan was born on December 11, 1930 in Pioranque, a small town in the south of France. He came from a privileged family. At the age of 20, he suddenly decided to give up after watching Molière's play "The Miser". Originally a law major, full of enthusiasm, he went north to Paris to learn acting.
In 1956, Trandignan, who had several years of stage experience, appeared in a movie for the second time, in the "God Created Woman" tailor-made for his wife Brigitte Bardot by new director Roger Vadim. ", became the protagonist and played the latter's husband. Three years later, he starred with Jeanne Moreau in Vadim's "Dangerous Relationships." The film is based on the novel of the same name published in 1782 by Pierre Chodello Delacroix. It is also the first time this literary masterpiece has been put on the screen. A new face of the film industry that is well-known to the French people. In the following years, he co-starred with Romy Schneider in "Duel on an Island" and "Inferno", "Castle" with Monica Vitti, and again with Jeanne Moreau "Agent 21 Mata Harley", both achieved a certain degree of success.
In 1966, in the romantic film "A Man and a Woman" directed by French director Claude Le Roouche, he and Anouk Aimee successfully played a pair who had suffered misfortune in life but were full of love. A longing for middle-aged widower and widow. Although the story is simple, the filming is not conventional, plus a classic theme song, looking back now, it still does not lose its unique charm.

"A Man and a Woman" stills

According to director Le Roouche, the success of "A Man and a Woman" is absolutely inseparable from the wonderful performance of Trentignan. He once said, "How to guide actors when making movies, I think this lesson, I think It should have been taught to me by Tratignan. I believe that the relationship between the director and the actor is actually the same as the protagonist in a love story. If the director does not love his male and female lead actors, it is impossible for him to successfully direct the film; In the same way, actors who don't love the director can't give a wonderful performance."
In the 1950s and 1960s, the French film industry set off a "new wave" film movement, and various works that pursued artistic innovation became popular. But Trentignan did not choose the project alone. He has successively collaborated with Alain Robbe-Grillet of the left bank "European Express" and "The Liar" (for which he won a Berlin The Best Actor Award at the Film Festival) "The Desire" and "Playing with Fire" have a total of four films; also went south to Italy, made a lot of local-style westerns; and even collaborated with the erotic film master Tinto Barras. The less explicit "Death Sweetness".

"The Liar" stills

In terms of "New Wave" directors, Trandignan starred in Chabrol's "The Deer", Rohmer's "One Night at Maud's", and also participated in Truffaut's last work before his death, "In Love" "The Case", played an inexplicably wronged man who often appeared in Hitchcock's films.

"One Night at Maud's House" stills

In addition, in 1969, he played the unselfish prosecutor in Costa Gavras' political thriller "Focus", which won the best actor award at that year's Cannes Film Festival. The following year, he played Marcelo, an intellectual who sold his soul to the fascists in Italian director Bertolucci's "The Companion", which also received high praise, and this work was also a Tran Tignan himself considers the best film he has ever acted in.

"Focus News" stills

Stills of "The Companion"

However, he has a lot of films and a variety of films. After entering middle age, he rarely finds good works. He once said that out of the more than 100 films he has acted in, there are about 100 films, none of which are memorable. the value of. However, when he was in his twilight years, Tradignan once again made the world film circle know him again with his deeply rooted role. That is the last film "Red" by the great Polish director Kieslowski. In the film, he plays the eccentric, unsmiling retired judge Joseph. His daily hobby is eavesdropping on the phone of his neighbors, but his frozen heart gradually melts when he gets along with the female student and model Valentine.

"Red" stills

Since then, the number of films taken by the elderly Trandignan has been decreasing day by day. He only played a supporting role in a few French films such as "Homemade Hero" and "The One Who Loves Me Please Ride", and more energy was put on stage performances. superior. In 2012, after violating the big screen for more than ten years, he announced his return to the arena with a "Love". According to the film's director, Michael Haneke, the role of the elderly in "Love" was tailor-made for Trantignan. Idols have a collaboration. With this film, Trandignan won the French Film César Award for Best Actor. In the past, he has been nominated for the Caesar Award four times, but never won.

"Love" stills

In 2017, Trandignan collaborated with Haneke again in "Happy Ending", and then officially announced his retirement, but it didn't take long before he couldn't help his old partner Le Rouge's call, and starred in that year's "A Man and a Man". The sequel to "A Woman", "The Most Beautiful Years", staged a twilight love with his partner, Anouk Aimee, who is also nearly 90 years old.

Stills of "The Most Beautiful Years"

In 2018, the 88-year-old Tratignan announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. At the end of last year, ex-wife Nadina Tradignan revealed in an interview with Paris Match Illustrated that her husband has gradually become blind due to diabetes, and his physical condition is very poor, but he still misses his unfortunate daughter, Marie Te, who died prematurely. Landignan.
Trandignan had three marriages in his life. His first wife was actor Stefan Alderaan, but this marriage lasted only two years, because he and Brigitte Bardot is in crisis because of a fake show. In 1961, he entered the marriage hall with Nadina, the sister of his friend Ma Kang brothers. After his marriage, he participated in five films directed by his wife, and had three children. Except for his youngest daughter, Pauline, who died 10 months after birth, his daughter Mary and his son Fan Shang will also be engaged in film work in the future. made.

"God Created Woman" stills

In 1976, Nadina parted ways with Romy Schneider because of her close relationship with Romy Schneider during the filming of "The Last Train", and then remarried French director Alain Corneau with her two children. ). However, Trantignan, who loved his daughter the most, never gave up on Marie. With the help of her parents and her stepfather Kono, Marie Trantignion entered the French film scene very early and was nominated for five César Awards. Unfortunately, in August 2003, 41-year-old Marie was violently beaten to death by her boyfriend, the famous French rock singer Bertrand Cantat, while on vacation, leaving Trantinho to experience a white life. The endless pain of sending a brunette. Afterwards, Kantar was sentenced to only eight years in prison, and was released on parole after serving only half of his sentence. This incident made Trentignan out of anger. Although he directly protested to the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy, it still failed to change any fait accompli. "I died on August 1, 2003, the day Mary died. My whole life and body was destroyed on that day," he once said.
In the 90 years of his life, although he is a first-line actor active on the French screen, Tratignan, who has always been a low-key person, rarely gives interviews, and even hides from red carpet ceremonies. "I'm actually a very shy person, and fame and fortune are all floating clouds. When I was young, I suddenly became famous, and I was excited at the time, but after a long time, I don't think it's the same thing at all. Why give us awards? What about these people? We can make movies, and we already have a lot of money. As I say, the Oscars should be awarded to those who work hard and get very little.” When he announced his retirement a few years ago, Trentini Ang once had such a confidant in the face of the media.
Accompanying Trentignan in his later years was the famous French racing navigator Marianne Hoepfner, who was fourteen years younger than him. Influenced by the uncles of the three racing drivers in the family, Trandignan has been very interested in racing since he was a child. In addition to playing the racing driver in "A Man and a Woman", he also formed a group of actors and friends in his life. He joined the star team and participated in several 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monte Carlo Rally. He and Mariana Hoffner became attached and got married in 2000.