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Jacques Becker

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Jacques Becker ( French: [bɛkɛʁ] ; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter . His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led the French New Wave movement.

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61-524: Born in Paris, Becker was from an upper-middle-class background. His father Louis Becker, from Lorraine , was corporate director for Fulmen, a battery manufacturer; his mother, Margaret Burns, of Scottish and Irish descent, managed a fashion house in rue Cambon near Chanel in Paris. He was educated at the Lycées Condorcet and Carnot and then at the École Bréguet . Becker was reluctant to pursue

122-528: A pliosaurid from the Middle Jurassic ( Bajocian ) deposits, was discovered in Lorraine and named after this region in 2023. Most of Lorraine has a clear French identity, with the exception of the northeastern part of the region, today known as Moselle , which historically has had a German-speaking population. In 1871, Bismarck annexed about a third of today's Lorraine to the new federation of

183-575: A business career like his father and at the age of 18 he went to New York. On a transatlantic liner he met the film director King Vidor who offered him a job but Becker turned it down. Back in France Becker developed a friendship with Jean Renoir , whom he had first met in 1921 through their mutual acquaintance with the Cézanne family, and they discovered a shared enthusiasm for sports cars and jazz music as well as films. In 1929, Becker took

244-617: A crossroads between French and German cultures, Lotharingia experienced tremendous economic, artistic, and cultural prosperity during the 12th and 13th centuries under the Hohenstaufen emperors. Along with the rest of Europe, this prosperity was terminated in Lorraine in the 14th century by a series of harsh winters, bad harvests, and the Black Death . During the Renaissance , a flourishing prosperity returned to Lotharingia until

305-489: A director was relatively short (13 features completed before his early death) and because the variety of his subjects and genres makes him difficult to categorise, Becker's reputation has tended to be overshadowed by those French filmmakers who have fitted more easily into a critical narrative. He was however highly esteemed by many of his fellow filmmakers. Jean Renoir, who knew him first as a friend and then as his assistant, described him as "my brother and my son ... someone who

366-459: A gigantic 44.3-meter (145 feet) high Cross of Lorraine. The use of the potato in Lorraine can be traced back to 1665. It was imported to Europe from South America. It is used in what developed as various traditional dishes of the region, such as the potée lorraine . The Breux potato, which takes its name from the village of Breux in the north of the Meuse, is considered to be excellent because of

427-434: A permanent part of the modern Republic of France . Because of wars, it came under control of Germany several times as the border between the nations shifted. While Lorrainian separatists do exist in the 21st century, their political power and influence is negligible. Lorraine separatism today consists more of preserving its cultural identity rather than seeking genuine political independence. With enlightened leadership and at

488-567: A small acting role in Renoir's film Le Bled , and he went on to become Renoir's assistant for nine of his films of the 1930s. He also made brief appearances in some of them, such as La Grande Illusion (in which he played an imprisoned English officer who smashes his watch rather than allow the Germans to have it). Becker had his first chance of directing a film of his own in 1939 with L'Or du Cristobal , but it ran into difficulties and he left

549-501: A true story among the criminal gangs of the Parisian underworld. The film was not well received at its initial appearance, but following acclaim abroad it became one of Becker's most admired works. Becker had a further success with Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) which relaunched the post-war career of Jean Gabin in the role of an aging gangster and introduced a distinctly French style of the gangster film which would become popular in

610-568: Is Lorrain , which is a moribund minority Romance language that is spoken in southeastern Lorraine. The second is the German dialect of Lorraine Franconian , a group of three Franconian dialects independently surviving in northern and western Lorraine. They are referred to collectively as Plàtt in Franconian or francique or platt (lorrain) in French (not to be confused with Lorrain ,

671-416: Is Nancy , which was the seat of the duchy for centuries. To the north, Lorraine borders Germany , Belgium , and Luxembourg . In French, its male inhabitants are called Lorrains and its female inhabitants are called Lorraines . The population of Lorraine is about 2,356,000. Lorraine's borders have changed often in its long history. The location of Lorraine led to it being a paramount strategic asset as

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732-460: Is a 1958 French-Italian drama film directed and co-written by Jacques Becker , partially based on the last years of the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani , who worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse area of Paris. Some of his most famous paintings done then were of his last two lovers, Beatrice Hastings and Jeanne Hébuterne . Leading a bohemian existence In Paris

793-549: Is a perpetual challenge to vulgarity, and it is a gamble Becker invariably wins, for his films are alway elegant and dignified". Later assessments have taken up a number of these observations. Several critics have emphasised his attention to details, not only to create atmosphere but as a key to exploration of the characters who are linked to them. The prioritisation of character over plot is another recurrent feature which has been noted, especially in Becker's willingness to depart from

854-586: Is generally used as a garden or for car parking. Furniture developed a specific identity after the Thirty Years' War : the "Lorrain style". At €44 billion (in 2000), Lorraine generates 3.4% of France's GDP. Despite ranking 11th in population, it ranks 8th in GDP out of the 22 regions of France, making it per capita among the top economic producing regions in the country, along with Alsace and Île-de-France (Paris). The logistics and service sectors have experienced

915-577: Is identical to the same dialects spoken in the neighboring Rhineland of Germany. Like most of France's regional languages (e.g. Basque , Breton , West Flemish , Catalan , Provençal , and Alsatian which is close to dialects of its neighboring Lorraine), Lorrain and Lorraine Franconian have largely been replaced in use by French. For more than a century, nationalistic policies of the central government required public schooling to be conducted only in French. Now, however, there are efforts being made to revive Lorraine Franconian , whose linguistic vitality

976-614: Is now a separate administrative region. Most of the region forms part of the Paris Basin , with a plateau relief cut by river valleys presenting cuestas in the north–south direction. The eastern part is sharper with the Vosges. Many rivers run through Lorraine, including Moselle , Meurthe , and Meuse . Most of them are on the Rhine drainage basin . Lorraine has an oceanic climate with continental influences. Lorrainosaurus ,

1037-462: Is sent to Nice to recuperate. Jeanne escapes and joins him there, after which the two are inseparable. Returning to Paris, the Zborowskis arrange a one-man show in the prestigious gallery of Madame Weill, where everybody turns up for free drinks at the opening but nobody buys. After complaints, the police order the removal of a nude from the window. A cynical dealer called Morel explains that Modi

1098-482: Is still relatively high. Recent efforts include the use of bilingual signs in Franconian areas, and Franconian-language classes for young children whose parents can no longer speak their ancestral language. During World War II, the cross was adopted as the official symbol of the Free French Forces (French: Forces Françaises Libres , or FFL) under Charles de Gaulle . Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu suggested

1159-572: Is sure to die soon and that is when people will pay for his works. The Zborowskis find an American millionnaire who is genuinely interested in some of Modi's canvasses (which would later become world-famous) but when he says he would then use the blue eyes of Jeanne to advertise his products, Modi walks out in disgust. Despondent at his inability to combine the quest for beauty in his paintings of Beatrice and Jeanne with any commercial reality, and with his health increasingly feeble, he goes round cafés trying without success to sell his drawings. Collapsing in

1220-503: Is the artist Modigliani, known as Modi. Spending much of his time drinking and sleeping with the attractive writer Beatrice, he does some drawing and painting but sells virtually nothing. He meets a beautiful young art student called Jeanne, who is locked up by her family to keep her away from him. His friends the Zborowskis do their best to keep him afloat, but his fragile health, weakened by constant alcohol and tobacco, gives out and he

1281-541: The Austrian Netherlands . For political reasons, he decided to hide those heirs who were not born by his first wife, Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria , who was deceased when he took office. The vacuum in leadership, the French Revolution , and the political results and changes issuing from the many nationalistic wars that followed in the next 130 years, ultimately resulted in Lorraine becoming

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1342-717: The Austro-Hungarian Empire , and others. In 840, Charlemagne 's son Louis the Pious died. The Carolingian Empire was divided among Louis' three sons by the Treaty of Verdun of 843. The middle realm, known as Middle Francia , went to Lothair I , reaching from Frisia in Northern Germany through the Low Countries , Eastern France, Burgundy , Provence , Northern Italy, and down to Rome . On

1403-472: The Cross of Lorraine was a symbol of Free France . The administrative region of Lorraine is larger than the 18th century duchy of Lorraine , which gradually came under French sovereignty between 1737 and 1766. The modern region includes provinces and areas that were historically separate from the duchy of Lorraine proper. These are: Some historians consider the traditional province of Lorraine as limited to

1464-469: The French language and culture in favor of High German, which became the administrative language (Geschäftssprache. ) It required the use of German in schools in areas which it considered or designated as German-speaking , an often arbitrary categorisation. French was allowed to remain in use only in primary and secondary schools in municipalities definitely considered Francophone, such as Château-Salins and

1525-608: The German Empire following a decisive victory in the Franco-Prussian War . This disputed third has a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German , since both Romance and German dialects are spoken here. Like many border regions, Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects not mutually intelligible with either standard French or German (see linguistic boundary of Moselle ). Traditionally, two languages are native to Lorraine. The first

1586-715: The German Sixth Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria counterattacked and forced the French forces into retreat at the Battles of Sarrebourg and Morhange . Lorraine remained under martial law , close to the Western Front in northeastern France, and suffering from refugee crises for the rest of the war. The population effectively revolted against German rule by participating in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and welcomed French troops into

1647-538: The Kingdom of France , via derivative aristocratic house alliances. The succession within these houses, in tandem with other historical events, would have later restored Lorraine's status as its own duchy, but a vacuum in leadership occurred. Its duke Francois Stephen de Lorraine took the throne of the Holy Roman Empire as Francis I , and his brother Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine became governor of

1708-409: The Thirty Years' War . France inherited Lorraine in 1766. The region's location has caused the population to be mixed. The north largely speaks German , Lorraine Franconian and other German dialects . A strong centralised nationalism had only just begun to replace the feudalist system which had formed the multilingual borders, and an insurrection against the French occupation influenced much of

1769-475: The administrative region of Grand Est . Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia (855–959 AD), which in turn was named after either Emperor Lothair I or King Lothair II . Lorraine, originally the southern or "upper" part of this kingdom, came to be ruled by the Holy Roman Empire as the Duchy of Lorraine before the Kingdom of France annexed it in 1766. From 1982 until January 2016, Lorraine

1830-587: The Côte d'Azur and Becker used the opportunity to establish links between an anti-Nazi group of filmmakers there and the Parisian Resistance . In 1943, he was one of the filmmakers who set up the Comité de libération du cinéma français to make preparations for the cinema after the war, and in the following year they organised filming of the uprising in Paris for the documentary La Libération de Paris . In

1891-798: The High German standard (i.e. Germanised ) a number of genuine Francophone toponyms remained untouched. During the Nazi occupation between 1940 and 1944, however, its government imposed German translations to replace French names. For instance, Château-Salins was called Salzburg in Lothringen. During the Battle of the Frontiers at the beginning of World War I , the French First Army invaded Lorraine and briefly occupied Mulhouse . However,

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1952-632: The Kingdom of France in 1766. During the French Revolution , four departments were created from the main parts of the territories of Barrois, Three Bishoprics and the Duchy of Lorraine: After 1870 some parts of Moselle and Meurthe became German. Of the remaining parts, France formed the new department named Meurthe-et-Moselle . After 1918 and the Great War, France took over control again of Moselle . When France created its administrative regions in

2013-530: The Meuse River) was the Duchy of Bar , part of the Holy Roman Empire . In the 15th century, it was united with the Duchy of Lorraine by the marriage of the Duke of Bar, René of Anjou , with Isabella , daughter of the Duke of Lorraine. Thus the duchies of Bar and Lorraine were united in personal union under the same duke, although formally they were officially separate until being annexed and incorporated into

2074-463: The Parisian fashion business. After the war Becker made several films in comic vein which showed the everyday lives of young people in present-day Paris: Antoine et Antoinette (1947), Rendezvous de juillet (1949), Édouard et Caroline (1951), and Rue de l'Estrapade (1953). In the middle of these he made Casque d'or (1952), a tragic romance set during the Belle Époque and loosely based on

2135-570: The Romance language). Now mainly rural and isolated, these dialects gradually differ in the region, though they are mutually intelligible. Lorraine Franconian is distinct from neighbouring Alsatian , to the south, although the two are often confused. Neither of them has official status where they are spoken, but Alsatian is far more widely used. Technically, Lorraine Franconian is a catch-all term for what were historically three dialects: Luxembourgish , Mosel Franconian , and Rhine Franconian . Each

2196-545: The adoption of the Cross of Lorraine as the symbol of the Free French. In his General Order No. 2 of 3 July 1940, Vice-Admiral Émile Muselier , chief of the naval and air forces of the Free French for two days, created the bow flag displaying the French colours with a red Cross of Lorraine, and a cockade also featuring the Cross of Lorraine. De Gaulle is memorialised at his home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises by

2257-578: The aftermath of the Liberation, Becker was among those who argued in support of Henri-Georges Clouzot and Robert Le Vigan when they were condemned for collaboration during the war. Becker made two further films, of markedly different character, during the Occupation: Goupi Mains Rouges was a story of greed and murder in a remote French farming community, and Falbalas depicted the (more or less contemporary) world of

2318-482: The area's early identity. In 1871, the German Empire regained a part of Lorraine ( Bezirk Lothringen , corresponding to the current department of Moselle ). The department formed part of the new German Empire 's Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine . In the French Third Republic , the revanchist movement developed to recover this territory. The Imperial German administration strongly discouraged

2379-415: The crossroads of four nations. This, along with its political alliances, marriage alliances, and the ability of rulers over the centuries to choose sides between East and West, gave it a tremendously powerful and important role in transforming all of European history. Its rulers intermarried with royal families over all of Europe, played kingmaker, and seated rulers on the thrones of the Holy Roman Empire and

2440-450: The death of Lothair I, Middle Francia was divided in three by the Treaty of Prüm in 855, with the northern third called Lotharingia and going to Lothair II . Due to Lotharingia being sandwiched between East and West Francia , the rulers identified as a duchy from 870 onward, enabling the duchy to ally and align itself nominally with either eastern or western Carolingian kingdoms in order to survive and maintain its independence. Thus, it

2501-614: The duchy of Lorraine proper, while others consider that it includes Barrois and the Three Bishoprics. The duchy of Lorraine was originally the duchy of upper Lorraine, and did not include the entire area since called Lorraine . The case of Barrois is the most complicated: the western part of Barrois (west of the Meuse), known as Barrois mouvant , was detached from the rest of Barrois in the early 14th century and taken over by French sovereignty. The largest part of Barrois (east of

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2562-486: The fact that he himself learned his craft as Jean Renoir's assistant on some of the great films of the 1930s and he went on to become an inspiration to some of the younger filmmakers of the 1950s and 1960s, while his own films often drew intimate portraits of his own times in the years between. Lorraine (region) Lorraine is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France , now located in

2623-424: The following years. Finding it nevertheless difficult to get financing for his projects, Becker next undertook a couple of commercial productions, Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs and Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin , in which he found less scope to impose a personal touch (and the only two films he made in colour). In 1958, Becker took over the filming of Montparnasse 19 from Max Ophuls who died while preparing

2684-464: The hours). By tradition, they do not toll during Holy Week preceding Easter. Instead, the children of the villages play ratchets and announce, C'est l'Angélus! (It's the Angelus). After Easter , the children go from house to house and receive small presents for their service. Sinterklaas is celebrated in Lorraine, where he is called "Saint Nicolas". Each year, more than 150,000 people gather in

2745-400: The main thrust of the narrative to follow seemingly inessential moments in the lives of his characters through which they become more deeply embedded in their context. The frequent observations that Becker's films are difficult to classify, because they are so varied in style and genre, are supported by a remark that Becker made about himself in an interview: he said that he had been haunted by

2806-517: The middle of the 20th century, it decided to gather Meurthe et Moselle , Meuse , Moselle and Vosges into a single region, known as Lorraine. Lorraine is the only French region to have borders with three other countries: Belgium ( Wallonia ), Luxembourg , and Germany ( Saarland , Rhineland-Palatinate ). It also borders the French regions of Franche-Comté , Champagne-Ardenne , which were at times part of historical Lorraine Lotharingia , and Alsace , which, while still part of Lorraine's identity,

2867-523: The notion of being 'pigeon-holed', and this was something he had long paid attention to in his choice of work. Becker also expressed his ideas about film authorship in an article published in 1947, in which he argued that directors should work on their own screenplays and make their films personal. This was some years before proponents of the New Wave expressed similar principles. The judgment that Becker's films can be seen as both classic and modern reflects

2928-546: The perfect conditions of the area for its cultivation. Smoked bacon is also a traditional ingredient of the cuisine of Lorraine. It is used in various traditional dishes of the region, including the famous quiche Lorraine . The mirabelle plum of Lorraine is the emblematic fruit of Lorraine. It is used in pies and other desserts, as well as in alcoholic beverages . Traditional dishes in the region include: Traditional cheeses of Lorraine include: Carré de l'Est , Brouère , Munster-géromé , Tourrée de l'Aubier . Desserts from

2989-492: The production after three weeks. After the outbreak of WW2 and the German invasion of France, Becker was captured and spent a year in a prisoner-of-war camp in Pomerania before getting released. Returning to occupied France, he was able to make his proper first feature, Dernier Atout (1942), thanks to a friend who was setting up an independent production company. Some of the filming of Dernier Atout took place around Nice on

3050-423: The project about the last years of the painter Modigliani , but because of its hybrid origins it remained a troubled production. In Le Trou (1960), which recounted in almost documentary fashion the planning of a prison escape (based on a real event of 1947), Becker was able to return to a more personal and rigorous style. It was Becker's final film and he died shortly before its release, which then brought some of

3111-531: The region include: madeleine , macaron , rum baba , plombières ice-cream , various pie recipes ( brimbelles bilberry, mirabelle plum, rhubarb, quark ...). The Christstollen is also popular in Lorraine during the Christmas season. Lorraine has a Roman Catholic heritage. Almost every village has a church, often centuries old, although many do not have a dedicated priest anymore. Church bells are traditionally rung to announce Angelus time (and often toll

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3172-553: The region several days later. In the 1919 Treaty of Versailles , the Weimar Republic suffered severe territorial losses following World War I , including the portion of Lorraine territory that had been part of its state of Alsace-Lorraine. With the exception of its de facto annexation by Nazi Germany as part of the Gau Westmark during World War II , that area has since remained a part of France. During that war,

3233-448: The street, he is taken to hospital where he dies alone. Without telling her what has happened, Morel rushes round to a delighted Jeanne to buy up all unsold works for immediate cash. The film was originally to be directed by Max Ophüls , but while preparing the project, he died of rheumatic heart disease . The production was completed by his friend Jacques Becker , and the film was dedicated to Ophüls. There are at least two versions of

3294-464: The streets of Nancy to celebrate Sinterklaas . A total of that number gather in other areas across the region. Except for dispersed settlement in the Vosges mountains, traditional farms display linked houses, forming linear villages . They are built quite far from the road. The area between the house and the road is called l'usoir  [ fr ] . Until the 1970s, the usoir was used to store farming tools, firewood, or manure. Today this area

3355-662: The strongest growth in recent years. The traditional industries ( textiles , mining , metallurgy ) have undergone a decline due to restructuring and the move of some jobs offshore. Consequently, the region has struggled with rising unemployment, although its rate is still below the national average. In 1997 the last iron ore mine in Lorraine was closed; it had once produced more than 50 million tonnes of iron. 49°00′N 6°00′E  /  49.000°N 6.000°E  / 49.000; 6.000 Montparnasse 19 Montparnasse 19 ( French : Les Amants de Montparnasse , lit.   'The Lovers of Montparnasse')

3416-430: The surrounding arrondissements, as well and in their local administration. After 1877, higher education, including state-run colleges, universities and teacher seminaries, was conducted exclusively in German. The predominance of German and the partial usage of French, though restricted, were both guaranteed by the 1911 constitution of Alsace-Lorraine. While many toponyms of German etymology in Lorraine were adapted to

3477-572: The warmest acclaim of his career. Becker was 53 when he died of lung cancer in February 1960, and he was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. His children by his first marriage included Jean Becker , who also became a film director (and assisted his father on several of his later films), and Étienne Becker who was a cinematographer. In 1957, the actress Françoise Fabian became Becker's second wife. Perhaps because his career as

3538-532: Was a duchy in name but operated as an independent kingdom. In 870, Lorraine allied with East Francia while remaining an autonomous duchy. In 962, when Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor , restored the Empire ( restauratio imperii ), Lorraine was designated as the autonomous Duchy of Lorraine within the Holy Roman Empire. It maintained this status until 1766, after which it was annexed under succession law by

3599-505: Was an administrative region of France. In 2016, under a reorganisation, it became part of the new region Grand Est. As a region in modern France, Lorraine consisted of the four departments Meurthe-et-Moselle , Meuse , Moselle and Vosges (from a historical point of view the Haute-Marne department is also located in the region), containing 2,337 communes. Metz is the regional prefecture . The largest metropolitan area of Lorraine

3660-931: Was as good as it could be. Melville regarded Le Trou as one of the greatest films. For the critic-directors of the New Wave in the 1950s, Becker was one of a select group of French filmmakers whom they excluded from a moribund "tradition of quality" and regarded as auteurs , genuine creators of their own films who often wrote their own screenplays as well as directing. Jacques Rivette worked as Becker's assistant in 1954 on Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs . Jean-Luc Godard referred to Becker as "Frère Jacques". François Truffaut wrote often about Becker, and in an admiring review of Touchez pas au grisbi he argued that Becker's films stood apart from all theories and styles and were very much his own. They were notable less for their subjects or plots than for their economical, pared-down treatment and their explorations of character; "his work

3721-466: Was both lovable and ardent", and he singled out Casque d'or as "one of the masterpieces of the screen". Jean-Pierre Melville was another friend, who regarded Becker's support for his early films as being crucial in giving him the confidence to continue his own career as a filmmaker. He also described an example of Becker's perfectionism when he used Melville's studio to re-shoot scenes for Le Trou , repeating multiple takes before he felt satisfied that it

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