Jean-Luc Godard ended his life through assisted suicide
The news of legendary director Jean-Luc Godard’s passing has sent a wave of sadness throughout the world of cinema today. The 91-year-old was one of the most influential visionaries that the medium had ever seen, becoming the face of the French New Wave thanks to his work on movies like Breathless and Contempt.
Now, Godard’s legal council has confirmed that the director decided to end his own life through assisted suicide. The medical report confirms that Godard “had recourse to legal assistance in Switzerland for a voluntary departure” because he was “stricken with ‘multiple incapacitating illnesses,” Godard’s legal council, Patrick Jeanneret, told AFP.
French paper Libération quoted an unnamed source close to the family who said: “He was not sick, he was simply exhausted. So he had made the decision to end it. It was his decision and it was important for him that it be known.”
The paper also referenced a 2014 interview with Godard where the director explained his desire to end his life on his own terms if the situation came to that. “If I’m too ill, I don’t have any desire to be lugged around in a wheelbarrow … not at all,” he said. When Godard was asked whether he could imagine resorting to assisted dying, he said: “yes” but stressed that the decision was “still very difficult.”
Assisted suicide is a legal method of death in Switzerland, where Godard had spent a large portion of his life. In France, Godard’s birth country, assisted suicide is not legal. The Swiss Criminal Code conducts assisted dying on a case-by-case basis, stating that “a person who, for selfish reasons, incites someone to commit suicide or who assists that person in doing so will, if the suicide was carried out or attempted, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment (Zuchthaus) of up to 5 years or a term of imprisonment (Gefängnis).”
Godard’s death has triggered a wave of tributes from prominent figures in the entertainment industry, including eulogies from the likes of Edgar Wright, Darren Aronofsky, Dave Calhoun, Chris Stein, Warren Ellis, and Stephen Fry.
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