Leos Carax
Alex Christophe Dupont[1][2] (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (French: [leɔs kaʁaks]), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was Boy Meets Girl (1984), and his notable works include Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991), Holy Motors (2012) and Annette (2021). For the last, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. His professional name is an anagram of his real name, 'Alex', and 'Oscar'.
Leos Carax | |
|---|---|
 Carax at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | Alex Christophe Dupont 22 November 1960 Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
Early life
Carax was born Alex Christophe Dupont in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, a commune in the suburbs of Paris, France.[1] His mother is American and his father is French.
Career
Carax's film career began with a series of short films, and as a film critic, before he released Boy Meets Girl (1984), which established his reputation for a mature visual style. It also saw the first grouping of Carax with Denis Lavant and cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier. His next film was Mauvais Sang (literally Bad Blood but mostly known as The Night is Young) in 1986, which alienated some of his audience, but continued to explore the complexities of love in the modern world, this time through a darker, more criminal viewpoint. The work was clearly an homage to French New Wave cinema, and his use of such actresses as Juliette Binoche was a tribute to his influences, especially Jean-Luc Godard. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]
Five years later, Carax returned to directing with Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, an expensive undertaking as Parisian authorities granted him only 10 days to film on Pont Neuf. His initial reaction to the problems of filming on a public bridge had been to construct a model of the bridge in the community of Lansargues, in Southern France. But on the first day of filming Lavant severely injured his thumb, which pushed the movie back by a month. Subsequent financial difficulties further pushed filming over a much longer period than intended. The movie was released to critical acclaim and opened the door for Carax to enter more experimental waters with his fourth feature, Pola X (1999), an adaptation of Herman Melville's Pierre: or, The Ambiguities.
Carax's 2012 film Holy Motors also stars Lavant.[4] The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[5][6] In 2021, Carax directed Annette, a music-filled drama feature film written by Sparks and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. In 2017, Carax performed vocals and accordion on the Sparks track "When You're a French Director" from their album Hippopotamus.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Original title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Strangulation Blues | Short[7] |
| 1984 | Boy Meets Girl | Feature |
| 1986 | Mauvais Sang | Feature |
| 1991 | Les Amants du Pont-Neuf | Feature |
| 1997 | Sans Titre | Short |
| 1999 | Pola X | Feature |
| 2006 | My Last Minute | Short |
| 2008 | "Merde" | segment of Tokyo! |
| 2010 | "Naked Eyes" | segment of 42 One Dream Rush[8] |
| 2012 | Holy Motors | Feature |
| 2014 | Gradiva | Short |
| 2021 | Annette | Feature |
| 2024 | It's Not Me | Feature[9] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Quelqu'un m'a dit" | Carla Bruni |
| 2003 | "Tout le monde" | Carla Bruni |
| 2005 | "Crystal" (alternative version) | New Order |
As actor
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1987 | King Lear |
| 1997 | The House |
| 2004 | Process |
| 2006 | 977 |
| 2007 | Mister Lonely |
| 2012 | Holy Motors |
| 2021 | Annette |
References
- Philippe Rège. (2010). Encyclopedia of French film directors. Vol. I. A–M. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-0-8108-6137-4.
- Manohla Dargis. (16 October 2012). "It's Not About the Destination, but About the Dizzying Ride". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "Berlinale: 1987 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ""Holly motors", le retour de Léos Carax, avec Denis Lavant - News films Tournages - AlloCiné". Allocine.fr. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". timeout. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- Mooney, William H. (2021). Adaptation and the New Art Film: Remaking the Classics in the Twilight of Cinema. Springer Nature. p. 89. ISBN 978-3-030-62934-2.
- ONE DREAM RUSH, retrieved 17 October 2022
- Elsa Keslassy. (21 June 2023). "'Annette' Director Leos Carax Helms Self-Portrait 'It's Not Me;' Les Films du Losange Boards Project (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
Further reading
- Leos Carax by Fergus Daly and Garin Dowd. Published by Manchester University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-7190-6315-9.
External links
- Leos Carax at IMDb
- Leos Carax at AlloCiné (in French)
- "Alex in the City: Fergus Daly offers a brief guide to the fall and rise of Leos Carax"
- Interview with Carax on Pola X
- Alternate music video by Carax for the song "Crystal" by New Order at Google Video.
- Interview with Carax on funding for Pola X at YouTube.
- Carax's 1997 short film Sans Titre at YouTube.
- Carax's "my last minute", a short film at YouTube.
- Foco - Revista de Cinema, special edition devoted to Leos Carax