Top 5 Films Starring Bernard Giraudeau

France’s summer was darkened by the death of Bernard Giraudeau, one of France’s most popular stage and screen actors, after a long battle with cancer. Giraudeau rose to stardom in the early 1980s—with his good looks, irresistible smile and intense blue eyes, he was an ideal young leading man, but he quickly extended his reach to more ambiguous and darker roles. He was also a successful author and director. Almost unknown in the US, Giraudeau has long deserved to be discovered.

HANDSOME BOY NEXT DOOR

Viens Chez Moi, J’Habite Chez une Copine

Patrice Leconte, 1981

After losing his job and his apartment, Guy (the hilariously annoying Michel Blanc) asks his best friend Daniel (Giraudeau) if he can stay with him for a few days. Daniel and his girlfriend Françoise (Thérèse Liotard) accept, but they soon regret their generosity when Guy overstays his welcome, pushes his friends’ patience to the limit and threatens their relationship. Viens Chez Moi is a delightful comedy full of witty dialogue and laugh-out loud visual gags. Giraudeau and Blanc’s on-screen buddy chemistry make their improbable friendship seem natural. The film and its song by famous French singer Renaud were hits.

DAREDEVIL ADVENTURER

Les Spécialistes

Patrice Leconte, 1985

Four years after Viens Chez Moi, J’Habite Chez une Copine, Leconte gave Giraudeau another memorable role, this time pairing him with “bad boy” Gérard Lanvin. While being transferred to another prison, convicts Carella (Lanvin) and Brandon (Giraudeau) miraculously manage to escape by jumping down the Gorges du Verdon in Provence. Pursued by the police, they arrive at an isolated farmhouse where a young widow offers them refuge. The three of them decide to rob a casino, but soon Carella suspects that Brandon may not be what he appears… Les Spécialistes is a tense and entertaining thriller—including a fascinating heist scene and several unexpected twists—but also an ode to friendship.

TROUBLED BROTHER & SON

Le Fils Préféré

Nicole Garcia, 1994

When hotel manager Jean-Paul (Gérard Lanvin—César for best actor) finds himself in big financial trouble, he turns to his estranged family. His two brothers each have their reasons for refusing to help him: Philippe (Jean-Marc Barr), a successful lawyer, hasn’t forgiven Jean-Paul for sleeping with his wife; Francis (Giraudeau), a teacher, has been disowned by their father for being homosexual. No one has forgotten that Jean-Paul was always the “favorite son”… When their father disappears after a murky incident in which he has nearly drowned, the three brothers are forced to unite to find the old man. In Le Fils Préféré, actress turned-director Nicole Garcia (nominated for best director César with this film) offers a dark, subtle and moving exploration of the male psyche.

HUMANIST

Les Caprices d’un Fleuve (Unpredictable Nature of the River)

Bernard Giraudeau, 1996

In 1786, French nobleman Jean-François de la Plaine (Giraudeau) becomes the governor of a French colony in West Africa. There he callously presides over a thriving slave trade, but slowly his worldview changes as he becomes involved with the local population and with his lover, an African woman. Giraudeau followed his promising directorial debut (L’Autre, 1991) with this lavish and serene period piece based on his own novel with the same title. The film’s heartbreaking ending is a cry against racism.

PERVERSE EPICUREAN

Une Affaire de Goût (A Matter of Taste)

Bernard Rapp, 2000

In this strange psychological thriller Giraudeau brilliantly embodies the eccentric Frédéric Delamont, a wealthy 50-year-old businessman suffering from food allergies, who engages a young waiter, Nicolas Rivière (Jean-Pierre Lorit), as his personal food taster. Attracted by the huge salary, Nicolas willingly submits to Delamont’s every whim,  even as the commands become increasingly peculiar. Soon the two men develop a dangerous mutual dependency on one another,and the movie follows them on their voyage of self-destruction. A captivating and unforgettable film.

TIED FOR SIXTH

Le Toubib (The Medic) Pierre Granier-Deferre,1979. Romance/drama.

Croque la Vie Jean-Charles Tacchella, 1981. Romance/comedy.

Passione d’Amore Ettore Scola, 1981. Historical romance/drama.

Le Ruffian José Giovanni, 1983. Adventure.

Rue Barbare (Barbarous Street) Gilles Béhat, 1984. Drama.

L’Année des Méduses (Year of the Jellyfish) Christopher Frank, 1984. Romance/drama.

Ridicule Patrice Leconte, 1996. Historical drama/comedy.

Gouttes d’Eau sur Pierres Brûlantes (Water Drops on Burning Rocks) François Ozon, 2000. Outrageous drama/comedy.

La Petite Lili (Little Lili) Claude Miller, 2003. Drama.

 

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Originally published in the September 2010 issue of France Today.