Jacquot de Nantes (1991)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Agnès Varda

Writers:

Jacques Demy (memoirs)
Agnès Varda (writer)

Release Date:

25 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Jacquot Demy is a little boy at the end of the thirties. His father owns a garage and his mother is a hairdresser...

Plot Keywords:

Cinema | Vocation | Garage | Childhood | 1940s

Cast

Philippe Maron	...	Jacquot 1
Edouard Joubeaud	...	Jacquot 2
Laurent Monnier	...	Jacquot 3
Brigitte De Villepoix	...	Marilou, la mere
Daniel Dublet	...	Raymond, le pere
Clément Delaroche	...	Yvon 1
Rody Averty	...	Yvon 2
Hélène Pors	...	Reine 1
Marie-Sidonie Benoist	...	Reine 2
Jérémie Bernard	...	Yannick 1
Cédric Michaud	...	Yannick 2
Julien Mitard	...	Rene 1
Jérémie Bader	...	Rene 2
Guillaume Navaud	...	Cousin Joel
Fanny Lebreton	...	La petite refugiee
Céline Guicheteau	...	Copian
Marc Barto	...	Copain
Yann Juhel	...	Copain
Aurelien Leborgne	...	Copain
Mathias Lepennec	...	Copain
Carole Ferron	...	Copian
Ludovic Vanneau	...	Copain
Jean-Charles Hernot	...	L'ouvrier Guy
Edwige Delaunay	...	La choriste Bella
Jacques Bourget	...	Mr. Bonbons
Jean-François Lapipe	...	L'oncle Marcel
Chantal Bezias	...	La tante Nique
Marie-Anne Emeriau	...	La grand'mere
Véronique Rodriguez	...	La chanteuse
Henri Janin	...	Le sabotier
Marie-Anne Héry	...	La femme du sabotier
Christine Renaudin	...	La tante de Rio
Yves de Beauvilin	...	Le prof de dessin
Francis Viau	...	Le visiteur du soir
Yvette Longis	...	La charcutiere Luce
François Vogels	...	Mr. Debuisson
Françoise Lenouveau	...	La tapissiere Mme Bredin
Philippe Lenouveau	...	Le tapissier Mr. Bredin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacques Demy	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Agnès Varda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jacques Demy		memoirs
Agnès Varda		writer

Original Music by
Joanna Bruzdowicz

Cinematography by
Patrick Blossier
Agnès Godard
Georges Strouvé

Film Editing by
Marie-Josée Audiard

Set Decoration by
Robert Nardone

Costume Design by
Françoise Disle

Makeup Department
Brigitte Laurent	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Didier Rouget	....	assistant director
Philippe Tourret	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michele Benoist	....	property master
Mathieu Menut	....	property master

Sound Department
Jean-Pierre Duret	....	sound engineer
Jean-Pierre Duret	....	sound
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Nicolas Naegelen	....	sound
Pascal Despres	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Nathalie Durand	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
David Pichon	....	casting: Nantes
Sophie Van Baren	....	casting: Paris

Other crew
Monique Créteur	....	old style puppets
Mireille Henrio	....	documentation
Jeffrey Kime	....	subtitler: English

Production Companies

• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Ciné Tamaris
• La Sept Cinéma
• Sofiarp

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Sony Pictures Classics (1993) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

Jacquot

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl (2003) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Champtoceaux, Maine-et-Loire, France

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

A tribute to Agnès Varda's husband of 33 years, Jacques Demy. The scenes of Demy's childhood were shot in the actual house that he grew up in.

Movie Connections:

References Goupi mains rouges (1943)

Soundtrack:

N'y pensez pas

without inspiration

I think that director such as Jacques Demy, deserves much better treatment than the one he got in this poor cinema biography by Agnes Varda. This is done in low tradition of French TV dramas and I couldn´t find a single inspirational and emotional moment in this trivial film. Varda directed "Jacquot de Nantes" in a manner which is closer to the documentary feature but still not quite. So, what we got here is steady camera work which doesn´t allow us to see any emotions on screen and therefor care for the characters, and on the other hand it doesn´t go any deeper from the surface in documentary tradition. The ending is completely without any sense and it just goes on with the rest of the piece. Simply boring and very forgettable. One might also expect much more from the director of such classics as "Kung-Fu Master" and "Vagabond".