Jusqu'au bout de la nuit

Jusqu'au bout de la nuit ("until the end of the night") is a 1995 French drama film directed by Gérard Blain, starring Blain and Anicée Alvina. It tells the story of a man in his sixties who is released after a long prison sentence, and tries to have a relationship with a younger woman, while still determined to live outside the law. Blain described the film as "not a gangster film, but a love film and a relentless tragedy".[1] Sylvia Jeanjacquot, the widow of the criminal Jacques Mesrine, appears in a minor role.

Jusqu'au bout de la nuit
Directed byGérard Blain
Written byGérard Blain
Marie-Hélène Bauret
Produced byFrédéric Marboeuf
StarringGérard Blain
Anicée Alvina
CinematographyDaniel Gaudry
Edited byCatherine Taieb
Music byTarik Benouarka
Production
company
DB Films
Distributed byPathé Distribution
Release date
  • 13 September 1995 (1995-09-13)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

The film was shot in December 1994 in Lyon, Villeurbane, Vénissieux and Sathonay. It was shown at the Montreal World Film Festival and Cairo International Film Festival in 1995. It was released on France on 13 September 1995.[1][2]

Cast

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Reception

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Arte's Olivier Père wrote in 2012 that while the main character is a rebel of a type already seen in Blain's previous films, the director here deviates from genre conventions more heavily than before. Père wrote: "More surprising is the radicality of the directing which exposes the extremist discourse of the film. In great rigour, it evokes the cinematography of Robert Bresson, admittedly referenced by Blain throughout his whole filmography." Père continued: "With its rigorous aesthetics and moral, Jusqu’au bout de la nuit distinguishes itself from all and sundry of the French cinematic output of its time. But it is also a (politically) incorrect and disturbing film, charged with a restrained and subversive violence."[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jusqu'au bout de la nuit". rhone-alpes-cinema.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2014-08-25. Jusqu'au Bout de la Nuit n'est pas un film de gangsters, mais un film d'amour et une implacable tragédie.
  2. ^ "Jusqu'au bout de la nuit". unifrance.org (in French). Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  3. ^ Père, Olivier (2012-01-06). "Jusqu'au bout de la nuit de Gérard Blain". arte.tv (in French). Arte. Retrieved 2014-08-25. Plus surprenante était la radicalité de la mise en scène qui épouse le discours extrémiste du film. D'une grande rigueur, elle évoque le cinématographe de Robert Bresson, référence avouée de Blain pour toute sa filmographie." "Jusqu'au bout de la nuit se distingue par sa rigueur esthétique et morale du tout-venant de la production cinématographique française contemporaine. Mais c'est aussi un film (politiquement) incorrect et dérangeant, chargé d'une violence contenue et subversive.