Tribute to Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte is undoubtedly an outlier on the French cinematic landscape of the last fifty years - a filmmaker who is difficult to categorise, who likes to alternate genres and mix tones. The renowned filmmaker accepted to become the President of the Jury of CinEast 2023 and this occasion is marked by a mini-retrospective of his work and a masterclass. More information
A TRIBUTE TO PATRICE LECONTE
Patrice Leconte is undoubtedly an outlier on the French cinematic landscape of the last fifty years - a filmmaker who is difficult to categorise, who likes to alternate genres and mix tones.
Author of cult comedies, notably the first two instalments of French Fried Vacation (Les Bronzés), which brought him immediate popular success, he has also directed some darker films, such as Monsieur Hire and Girl on the Bridge, several acclaimed tragicomedies like The Grand Dukes and even period films such as Ridicule, which catapulted him onto the international scene in 1996, earning him an Oscar nomination. More recently, in 2022, he came back with another Simenon novel adaptation Maigret, in which the eponymous detective is played remarkably by Gérard Depardieu.
Mini-retrospective
On the occasion of his very first visit to Luxembourg (as President of CinEast’s International Jury), the festival and the Cinémathèque are devoting a mini-retrospective of his work, with four emblematic films and a Masterclass.
Les Bronzés / French Fried Vacation, France 1978, 92 min, French with EN subtitles
Holidaymakers arriving at a Club Med camp on the Ivory Coast are determined to forget their everyday problems and emotional disappointments. (Ancien Cinema, 8/10, 20.00)
Monsieur Hire / Mr Hire (France 1989, 79 min, in French with en subtitles)
Mr Hire has been living in the same flat for years. He is waiting. Alice, who lives in a studio flat opposite, suddenly realizes that he has been watching her for years. (Cinémathèque, 10/10 18.30)
Les Grands Ducs / The Grand Dukes ( France 1996, 89 min, in French with en subtitles)
Three old comedians, shabby and unemployed, are hired in a mediocre boulevard comedy. The producer is determined to sabotage the show in order to collect the insurance money. (Cinémathèque, 17/10 18.30)
Maigret (France 2022, 89 min, in French with en subtitles)
Maigret is investigating the death of a young girl. There is nothing to identify her and no one seems to remember her. He meets a delinquent girl who bears a striking resemblance to the victim and this awakens in him the memory of another disappearance... (Cinémathèque, 20/10 20.00)
The culmination of the tribute will be the Masterclass - a career interview, punctuated by film extracts.
The film critic and president of the ALPC (Luxembourg’s Film Critics’ Association) Pablo Chimienti will attempt to shed light on and unravel the different facets of our distinguished guest, while looking back at some of the many superstars of French cinema with whom he has had the opportunity to work (Jean Rochefort, Michel Blanc, Philippe Noiret, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Fanny Ardant, to name just a few). It will be a review of Patrice Leconte’s film career, but a provisional one, because at the age of 75 and with 34 films to his name, he certainly hasn't had his last word yet.
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