L'Amour fou (film)

For other films with the same name, see Amour fou (disambiguation) § Films.

L'Amour fou
Directed by	Jacques Rivette
Written by	Marilù Parolini Jacques Rivette
Produced by	Georges de Beauregard
Starring	Bulle Ogier Jean-Pierre Kalfon
Cinematography	Étienne Becker Alain Levent
Edited by	Nicole Lubtchansky
Music by	Jean-Claude Éloy
Distributed by	New Yorker Films (USA)
Release date	15 January 1969 (1969-01-15)
Running time	245 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

L'Amour fou is a 1969 French romantic drama film directed by Jacques Rivette, who co-wrote the script with Marilù Parolini.

Plot

L'Amour fou follows the dissolution of the marriage between Claire, an actress (played by Bulle Ogier), and Sebastien, her director (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). It is black and white with two different film gauges (35 mm and 16 mm) employed at different times throughout the film. The film focuses on a long cycle of self-destruction in Claire and Sebastien's relationship.

The central event in the film's narrative is a three-week period of preparation by a theater group for a production of Racine's version of Andromaque. A crew films the preparations of the theater company in handheld 16 mm, while the rest of the film is shot in 35 mm. This framework allows Rivette to focus on the act of direction, in the formation of an artwork and the dissolution of a relationship.

Significance

The film is pivotal in Rivette's career as a precursor to his vast 12+ hour opus Out 1 which followed two years later.

Cast

• Bulle Ogier - Claire
• Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Sébastien-Pyrrhus
• André S. Labarthe - Le réalisateur
• Josée Destoop - Marta-Hermione
• Dennis Berry - Dennis-Pylade
• Michèle Moretti - Michèle

Further reading

• Rivette, Jacques; De Pascale, Goffredo (2003). Jacques Rivette (in Italian). Il Castoro. ISBN 88-8033-256-2.

External links

• L'Amour fou at IMDb
• L'Amour fou at AllMovie
• L'Amour fou at the TCM Movie Database