The bitter-sweet world of Louis Malle

Louis Malle (1932-1995)

Louis Malle made his first film Lift to the Scaffold in 1957. It had a considerable success and won him Prix Louis Delluc (Louis Delluc Prize) for the best first film. The film's next revelation was acting talent of Jeanne Moreau. Next year saw the release of his film The Lovers. The film caused a considerable scandal but put Malle and Moreau on the international map. At the time, his success could make him pursue his career in formula film, but he refused to do so. In Zazie (1959), he experimented more audaciously and gaily than anyone since the silent days. The next important film by Malle is The Fire Within (1963), considered by many to be his best film. This sombre film about the last few days in the life of an alcoholic before he commits suicide, shows astonishing perception and authority of Louis Malle. Louis Malle, meantime, had made several films before he went to India in 1969, for making a documentary. He stayed there for six months and made a feature-length documentary Calcutta and a seven-part TV documentary Phantom India. Critics greeted his Indian documentaries with admiration. Murmur of the Heart (1971) is a subject very close to his own experience and made with warmth and delicacy. He dealt a very delicate subject lightly so that none objected to it. Lacombe Lucien (1973) is about a young French labourer who gain self-esteem by becoming a Nazi-collaborator. The best film of the second half of his career is Goodbye, Children! (1987), an autobiographical film based on his own experiences during the Second World War. This touching story concerns the friendly relationship that grows up between a Catholic boy and a Jewish boy. This film won 'the Golden Lion' at Venice Film Festival in 1987. Zahir Raihan Film Society will screen 12 of Malle's best films. The two-part retrospective of his films will be screened in association with the Alliance Francaise at its auditorium in September and October, 2003. Two films are being screened each day at 5.00pm and at 7.00pm. The screening schedule is as follows: Lift to the Scaffold and The Lovers on 21 September, Zazie and The Fire Within on 22 September, Lacombe Lucien and India: A Film Journey on 23 September; Atlantic City and Murmur of the Heart on 13 October, Pretty Baby and Goodbye Children on 14 October, Vanya on 42nd Street and Damage on 15 October. Louis Malle was born on 30 October 1932 in Thuimeries, France, to rich parents. The strict Catholic family did not give in to his early passion for cinema. After a Catholic schooling, Malle entered the Sorbonne University in Paris from where he graduated in political science. Then he joined Institute of Higher Cinematographic Studies in Paris as a student and graduated in 1953. Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the famous oceanographer and documentary filmmaker, asked Malle to join his expedition to film undersea life as the cinematographer and co-director. The project resulted in the beautiful documentary The Silent World that won 'the Golden Palm' at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956. From then on he ceaselessly made films till he died on 23 November 1995 of Cancer at Beverly Hills in California, USA. Our tributes to this film maestro!

Sabbir Chowdhury, a film society activist, teaches in the department of English at Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka.