Jean-Claude Brisseau

The three versions and a film about by JCB.
— Des jeunes femmes disparaissent (1974, 20 minutes, 8 mm, NB) IMDb
— Des jeunes femmes disparaissent (1976, 20 minutes, S8 mm, couleur) IMDb
— Des jeunes femmes disparaissent (2014, 30 minutes, HD, couleur) IMDb
— Des jeunes femmes disparaissent – Origine et fabrication (2018, 30 minutes)

Quote:
Je savais depuis un moment que je devais faire quelque chose que je voulais totalement différent. Récemment, je me suis mis à regarder une série de films en relief. J’ai alors eu envie de faire le remake d’un film, Des jeunes femmes disparaissent, que j’ai tourné il y a 40 ans, d’abord en 8 mm puis en Super 8. C’était un film à suspense, en noir et blanc, qui avait foutu la trouille à Eric Rohmer et Maurice Pialat.Read More »

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Lisa Heredia, la veuve et la monteuse de Jean-Claude Brisseau, nous a confié ces films. Ce sont ses tout premiers essais, qu’il a montrés quelques années plus tard à Eric Rohmer, qui en fut enthousiasmé et qu’il l’a introduit auprès [de la maison de production] des Films du Losange. Comme il est pour l’instant peu probable que la société nous permette de reprogrammer la rétrospective qui aurait dû lui être consacrée, nous avons jugé de notre devoir de montrer ces films sur notre plate-forme pour compléter la connaissance qui est due à tout grand cinéaste. (Frédéric Bonnaud, Le Monde) .Read More »

Quote:
Genevieve, the village nurse, finds Celine, a confused girl with suicidal tendencies, wandering the ward of the hospital one morning. Genevieve takes the young girl home but is afraid to leave her alone. When Celine’s stepmother offers the nurse money to take care of her stepdaughter, Genevieve agrees. A bond forms between the young girl and older woman until one day Genevieve realizes Celine has uncanny healing powers. With its dream-like cinematography and haunting music, Jean-Claude Brisseau’s psychological drama is a lyrical tale of miracles, apparitions, and sainthood. Brisseau, a maverick director unafraid to tackle social and cultural issues, combines naturalism and surrealism in his own distinctive style.Read More »

Quote:
The second film by Jean-Claude Brisseau is this gritty story of working women in the modern world. Originally shot on 16mm for French television, Life the Way It Is (La Vie Comme Ca) may be the director’s most radical film, with its images of suicide, group violence, and sexual pressure. Agnes Tessier leaves the comfortable confines of school to work at a chemical factory in a slum district with her friend Florence. When greeted with sexual harassment, harsh conditions, and volatile coworkers, Agnes responds by applying for the union rep position in order to challenge the status quo at the factory. Stripped down to the essentials, the film reflects the fury of working-class women everywhere.Read More »

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Camille, a beautiful fourty-year-old woman, finds a mobile phone that Suzy lost in a station. When Suzy calls her own number, they arrange to meet at Camille’s place so that Suzy can get her phone back. During this encounter, Suzy also meets Clara, Camille’s girlfriend. But they are interrupted by Fabrice, Suzy’s rejected lover, who is drunk and tries to take Suzy back to his place. While Clara takes Suzy to hide in the apartment above theirs, where “Tonton,” a strange old man with a love of yoga, lives, Camille tries to calm down Fabrice. Little by little she consoles him. This is when strange interactions start to occur: Camille becomes passionately involved with Fabrice, while Tonton initiates Suzy into meditation and levitation. Little by little, everyone finds their own path toward happiness, their own place in the game of feelings.Read More »

Quote:
Lost in a maze of his philosophizing while trying to write a book, a retired math teacher is forced to deal with the real world when he must rescue a young woman from the clutches of a thug outside his Paris apartment. What the teacher doesn’t know is that this woman may be his muse, a mystical agent or an angel of death. Stars director Brisseau and Virginie Legeay. Winner of the Golden Leopard, Locarno film festival 2012.Read More »