Jean-Paul Belmondo died on Monday at the age of 88.
Throughout his career, the actor has enjoyed immense love ratings from the public.
"What marked the spirits in the character that he created on the screen, it is a kind of total relaxation, permanent, very rare in the French cinema, advance to
20 Minutes
Christophe Ernault, editor in chief of the
Schnock
review
.
He immediately aroused the sympathy of the public, unlike his "enemy brother" Alain Delon.
"
"Belmondo, it's not just the name of a movie star, it's not just the name of a man," said Quentin Tarantino in 2013. It's a verb that represents vitality, charisma , a force of spirit.
This represents "super cool".
"
The Concorde was flying towards New York when two engines failed.
On board, Jean-Paul Belmondo was not far behind.
The flight attendants were busy without waiting to serve drinks to the distraught passengers.
In this panicked excitement, a man stood up and begged the actor: "Do something, Mr. Belmondo!"
"What could I do about it?"
», Laughed the actor by telling, in 2015 to our colleagues of the
Parisian
, this anecdote which occurred at the beginning of the 1980s.
If the story does not specify under what conditions the plane ended up reaching its destination without incident, it says a lot about the aura of Bébel, who died on Monday at the age of 88, in the eyes of the public.
As if he was as daredevil and heroic in everyday life as he was in his films.
As if the man in the city and his fictional roles were one.
"A kind of total relaxation"
"What marked the spirits in the character that he created on the screen, it is a kind of total relaxation, permanent, very rare in the French cinema, advance to
20 Minutes
Christophe Ernault, alias Alistair, editor in chief of the
Schnock
*
review
. He immediately aroused the sympathy of the public, unlike his "enemy brother" Alain Delon. He has a real popular rating. "
The first concerned was the first surprised by this craze. “The look of people who come to see me always amazes me. Sometimes it's that moment when Guillaume Canet tells me that his son Marcel watches some of my films and appreciates them a lot. Sometimes it's old ladies who will stop me in the street and tell me about some of my roles in the movies. Others are 20-year-olds who will tell me that they like
Peur sur la ville
,
Le Magnifique
, or films that I would not have imagined going through the ages. Each time, I have very kind and respectful exchanges, ”wrote Jean-Paul Belmondo in the preface to the book
Plus Bébel la vie
**.
“It was transgenerational and 'transartistic', underlines Christophe Ernault.
At the beginning, he had a certain requirement, he wanted to make eclectic choices.
When you look at her filmography, your eyes are wide-eyed by the aesthetic range, from
Pierrot le fou
to
Guignolo
… There are plenty of entry points, everyone can find the one that suits them.
"
No traitor, no real bastard
How to explain the almost unanimous adoration felt by the public for the actor? Perhaps by its ability to stay within the consensus and therefore avoid controversy. For the editor-in-chief of
Schnock
, this is one of the proofs of "the fine intelligence" with which he has led his career: "He has spoken very little on political or other subjects. At the very beginning, he was a trade unionist for actors. He had a political conscience but he never made a trade or proselytizing it, that allowed him not to grill himself for ridiculous controversies. "
His aura also depends a lot on the choice of his roles. “When I was shooting films, I was still very aware of my characters. (…) I had to be able to love them and that we could love them, he said. I don't think I could have played a traitor or a real bastard. Not that this kind of profile doesn't interest me, but there are actors more talented than me to embody them perfectly. Notably, he turned down the role that ultimately fell to Marlon Brando in
Bernardo Bertollucci's
The Last Tango in Paris
. In question, the scene known as "butter" showing a rape by sodomy.
Jean-Paul Belmondo confined himself to cool roles and it worked for him.
Ironically, it is when he plays Stavisky in the film of the same name directed by Alain Resnais that he experiences one of his biggest failures.
At the time, in 1974, critics criticized him for making the crook ... lovable.
"His lethal weapon is humor"
Whether he is in front of Godard's camera, that of De Broca or that of Verneuil, Jean-Paul Belmondo brings his touch: a dose of phlegm, another of intrepidity, a little mischief and the eye which, often, frieze. “It embodies a very French idea of joie de vivre, it floats, it soars,” the director Quentin Dupieux described to
So Film
three years ago. “His lethal weapon was humor. He didn't take himself seriously.
The Magnificent
is a masterpiece of self-mockery, ”greets Christophe Ernault for his part.
But the best definition was undoubtedly given in 2013 by Quentin Tarantino who came to Lyon to award him the Lumière Prize. "Belmondo is not just the name of a movie star, it is not just the name of a man," said the American filmmaker. It is a verb that represents vitality, charisma, a force of the spirit. This represents "super cool". "
So much for the public Belmondo, the one whose name, at the top of a cinema poster, was a promise of entertainment for the general public.
The intimate Belmondo remains unknown.
As the actress Mylène Demongeot ** says: “She is an unusual force of character, with a direct, disconcerting, cheerful but very serious side.
He is filled with courage and phenomenal strength, but who is behind this magnificent facade?
(…) Jean-Paul made sure that neither his work nor his problems were visible.
Elegance, always.
(*) Number 13, by
Schnock
, released in December 2014 was mainly devoted to Jean-Paul Belmondo.
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