Belgian postcard by Ed. Cinematek, Brussels. Senne Rouffaer in the Belgian film De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen / The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (André Delvaux, 1967), based on the novel by Johan Daisne.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 291. Yves Montand and Anouk Aimée in Un soir un train / One Night... a Train (André Delvaux, 1968). Collection: Alina Deaconu.
The founder of the Belgian national cinema
André Albert Auguste Baron Delvaux was born in Oud-Heverlee, Belgium, on 21 March 1926, a hundred years ago. Delvaux studied German language and literature and law and obtained a degree in both from the Université libre de Bruxelles. He also studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. A regular at the Royal Belgian Film Archive, he provided piano accompaniment for silent films from 1952 to 1958 at L'Écran du séminaire des arts, the predecessor of the Brussels Film Museum.
He became a teacher of Dutch language and literature at the Fernand Blum secondary school in Schaerbeek, where he founded a film class. Delvaux directed several short documentary films for Belgian television between 1956 and 1962, notably on French director Jean Rouch and a four-part series about Federico Fellini. He also co-directed a short fiction film with Jean Brismée, La Planète fauve (1959). In 1962, he co-founded the film school INSAS and became the director of its directing department. From that point, cinema was his primary occupation. Many regard him as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. According to director Jaco Van Dormael: “It was he who opened the door to Belgian cinema, through which we rushed”.
Delvaux made his debut as a feature film director with De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen / The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short, starring Senne Rouffaer and the Polish actress Beata Tyszkiewicz. He based it on the 1947 novel of the same name by the Flemish author Johan Daisne, written in the style of magical realism. The film was intended as a Belgian television film and was also broadcast by the BRT in 1965. After being re-edited, it became a feature-length film which premiered in Paris. There and at screenings in London and several international film festivals, the film received critical acclaim. It received the British Film Institute's Sutherland Trophy in 1966 for being "the most original and imaginative film premiered at the National Film Theatre during the year". In 1967, De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen / The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short was finally also released in cinemas in Belgium.
Yves Montand and Anouk Aimée were the stars of his next film, the French-Belgian drama Un soir, un train / One Night... a Train (André Delvaux, 1968). His first colour film shares several elements with the previous film: an uncomfortable teacher, a tragic ending and a confrontation between love and death. Delvaux based the screenplay on another novel by Johan Daisne, 'De trein der traagheid' (1950). The film forms part of Delvaux's cycle of ‘magical realism’. According to the filmmaker, the magical realism he employs is above all an aesthetic, spiritual and philosophical exercise, coupled with a metaphysical and ontological inquiry. Nevertheless, his films remain rooted in an everyday reality, perceived as mysterious and irrational. The boundary between the real and the imaginary is thus dissolved around the themes of death and desire. A disturbing and strange atmosphere arises as much from the story as from the landscapes.
Anna Karina played the leading role in the French-Belgian-German drama Rendez-vous à Bray (André Delvaux, 1971). The screenplay is based on the novella 'Le Roi Cophetua' (1970) by the French author Julien Gracq. The film, set during World War I, places great emphasis on atmosphere. It revealed a more intimate tone in his work and earned him the Prix Louis-Delluc in 1971. The film, which also stars Mathieu Carrière, Roger Van Hool and Bulle Ogier, became a turning point in Delvaux's career, because its critical success allowed him to choose his subjects more freely. His Belgian-French drama Belle (André Delvaux, 1973) with Jean-Luc Bideau and Danièle Delorme, is about an affair with a mistress who may or may not be imaginary.
Belgian postcard by Ed. Cinematek, Brussels. Anna Karina in Rendez-vous à Bray (André Delvaux, 1971) adapted from the novella 'Le Roi Cophetua' (1970) by Julien Gracq.
Belgian postcard by Ed. Cinematek, Brussels. Marie-Christine Barrault in Een vrouw tussen hond en wolf / Woman between Wolf and Dog (André Delvaux, 1979), adapted from the novel by Ivo Michiels.
International attention for his magic realist films
André Delvaux's Een vrouw tussen hond en wolf / Woman between Wolf and Dog (André Delvaux, 1979) is a French-Belgian drama situated during the Second World War. Marie Christine Barrault plays Lieve, a girl from Antwerp, who falls in love with a French-speaking resistance fighter (Roger van Hool), whilst her Flemish nationalist husband (Rutger Hauer) is fighting as a volunteer on the Eastern Front. Delvaux received the André Cavens Award from the Belgian Film Critics Association for the film.
Benvenuta (André Delvaux, 1983) was a co-production with Italy, starring Fanny Ardant and Vittorio Gassman. Delvaux adapted for the film the novel 'La Confession anonyme' (1960) by the Belgian author Suzanne Lilar. It is the story of a young screenwriter who, for the purposes of a film, sets out to meet a novelist (Françoise Fabian) who experiences each of her love affairs as a mystical experience.
Opera star José van Dam played the lead in the Belgian drama Babel Opéra (André Delvaux, 1985). Rehearsals are underway at the National Opera for Mozart’s 'Don Giovanni'. Moving amongst the singers, actors and orchestra are more or less real, yet strange characters who fit well with the opera’s story. They are also present at the premiere.
Delvaux's last feature film was his largest project. L'Oeuvre au noir / The Abyss (André Delvaux, 1988) was based on the 1968 novel of the same name by the French author Marguerite Yourcenar. Gian Maria Volonté stars as the Flemish alchemist and surgeon Zénon, who roams throughout Europe in the 16th century. He is persecuted by the Inquisition because of his dissident writings and his diabolical practices. The cast included several actors who had worked with him before: Anna Karina, Marie-Christine Barrault, Mathieu Carrière, Jean Bouise, Senne Rouffaer and Roger van Hool. Delvaux received his second André Cavens Award for the film. Delvaux's final short film, 1001 films, was shown as a special screening at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
For his magic realist films, André Delvaux received international attention. His films were screened once at the Berlin Film Festival and three times at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1975 and 1980, he was also a member of the jury at Cannes. Two important collaborators were the cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet, who worked on Delvaux's first four feature films, and the composer Frédéric Devreese, who provided original music throughout his career. In 1996, King Albert II of Belgium conferred upon Delvaux the title of baron. André Delvaux died of a heart attack in 2002 in the Spanish city of Valencia, where he was attending the second edition of the Valencia World Arts Festival. He was 76. His daughter, Catherine Delvaux, has been engaged in making his films available on home media. The Académie André Delvaux was created in 2010 with his daughter's involvement. It works to promote French-language Belgian cinema and is responsible for the Magritte Awards. In 2011, Delvaux posthumously received the first Honorary Magritte Award.
French poster postcard by Eds. F. Nugeron, E 487. Gian Maria Volonté in L'Oeuvre au noir / The Abyss (André Delvaux, 1988), adapted from the novel by Marguerite Yourcenar.
Belgian postcard by Ed. Cinematek, Brussels. Gian Maria Volonté in L'Oeuvre au noir / The Abyss (André Delvaux, 1988), adapted from the novel by Marguerite Yourcenar.
Sources: Wikipedia (English, French and Dutch), and IMDb.
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