CHABROL, CLAUDE

Chabrol, Claude: translation

(1930- )

Actor, director, film critic, producer, and screenwriter. Claude Chabrol spent much of his youth during World War II in Sardent, a village that provided the setting of some of his films. He later met fellow New Wave directors inciné-clubsand wrote forCahiers du cinéma. His filmLe beau Serge(1958) was the first feature of the Cahiers Group and won thePrix Jean-Vigo. It was followed byLes Cousins(1959), which was awarded the Golden Berlin Bear. Chabrol's first two features are frequently considered to be the very first films of theNouvelle Vagueor New Wave, although some critics citeFrançois Truffaut'sLes 400 coups(1959) as the first, withAgnès Varda'sLa Pointe Courtebeing a pivotal precurser.

Chabrol's subsequent films,A Double Tour(1959),Les bonnes femmes(1959),Les Godelureaux(1960),L'Oeil du malin(1960), andOphélia(1962), did not achieve the same level of acclaim.Landru(1962), which is regarded as his last New Wave film, was a success, and has curiously also been viewed by some critics as Chabrol's entrance into commercial cinema. Others point to his 1964Le Tigre aime la chair fraîcheas his debut into profit-oriented mainstream films.

Chabrol went on to make several commercial films, though his direction of art films did not cease. Indeed, critics have observed that Chabrol managed to blur the boundaries between artistic and popular cinema. After a period of salaried directing, which elite critics viewed negatively, Chabrol released his 1968 filmLes biches, which focuses on a sensual relationship between twowomenand stars his former wife, Stéphane Audran.It received wide critical acclaim. Increasingly, Chabrol became known as an incisive critic of the French bourgeoisie and a master of the thriller, especially inLe Boucher(1970).

Chabrol tends to collaborate with a particular group of people when making films, among them cinematographer Jean Rabier, scenarist Paul Gégauff, composers Pierre Jansen and Matthieu Chabrol, producers André Génovès and Marin Karmitz, and actors Audran,Isabelle Huppert,Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont,Michel Bouquet, andJean Yanne. Audran was the key figure in what has been called Chabrol's Hélène cycle, a series of films that includeLa femme infidèle(1968),Que la bête meure(1969),Le Boucher(1970),La Rupture(1970), andJuste avant la nuit(1971). The filmViolete Nozière(1978) marked the transition from Audran to Huppert as Chabrol's leading actress, though Audran is featured in his latter films.Violette Nozière, which is based on a nonfictional case of a woman who poisoned her parents, is a prominent example of Chabrol's interest in the stories of female criminals.

In the 1980s and beyond, Chabrol received a fair degree of critical acclaim. HisUne affaire des femmes(1988), based on the story of the last woman to receive the guillotine in France, was unconventional in its representation of women during the German occupation. It starred Huppert and was nominated for aCésarfor Best Director in 1989. Chabrol contributed to theheritagegenre withMadame Bovary(1991), a film based on Gustave Flaubert's classic novel.La Cérémonie— arguably Chabrol's most critically acclaimed film—was nominated for aCésarfor Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay in 1996, and Huppert won Best Actress for her performance. In 1997, Chabrol made his fiftieth film,Rien ne va plus. Afterwards, a special edition ofCahiers du cinémawas dedicated to Chabrol, an act that his fans considered long overdue.

Although Chabrol's work was initially considered uneven by several French critics, he has emerged as one of France's most prolific and respected directors. He continues to direct highly regarded films:Merci pour le chocolatwon thePrix Louis-Dellucin 2000 andLa fleur du mal(2003) was nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Film Awards in 2003.

In addition to directing, Chabrol has produced films through his production company, AJYM, which was financed with an inheritance from his wife's grandmother. With AJYM he produced his own early films, as well as those of other New Wave directors. For example, he producedÉric Rohmerl'sLe signe du lion(1959) as well asJacques Rivette'sLe Coup du berger(1956) andParis nous appartient(1961).