Jacques Rivette

Jacques Rivette (Rouen, 1928 – Paris, 2016) was a French film director and critic, and one of the most distinctive figures of the French New Wave. Together with Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol and Rohmer, he belonged to the circle that transformed French cinema through the pages of Cahiers du Cinéma, although his path soon diverged from that of his peers. His importance lies in a long body of work built on unconventional narratives, unhurried rhythms and a sustained interest in theatre, improvisation and mystery.

Born in Rouen into a family of pharmacists, he took up filmmaking after reading Jean Cocteau's book about the shooting of Beauty and the Beast. He made his first short in 1948 and, the following year, moved to Paris, where he attended ciné-clubs and the Cinémathèque française of Henri Langlois. There he met the young cinephiles who would later write for Cahiers. His second short, Le Quadrille (1950), shows four people seated around a table, and it was greeted with bafflement before its daring came to be appreciated.

As a critic, Rivette championed classical American cinema and was sharply critical of the French establishment. His second feature, The Nun (1966), adapted from Diderot, was banned for months, which brought him notoriety. He then turned to works of great length, such as Out 1, running around thirteen hours, now a cult object for cinephiles. Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) showed a more playful, fantastical side. After a difficult period, he worked steadily from the 1980s onward, with films such as Love on the Ground, La Belle Noiseuse and La Bande des quatre, in which the act of painting becomes a subject in itself.

His legacy lies in his view of cinema as a space for play, rehearsal and shared time with actors. His films demand patience, but reward viewers with shifting meanings and with a sense of shooting as an open search. He died in Paris in 2016.