Justine Triet names the only François Truffaut movie she likes
It’s been over a decade since Justine Triet made her feature-length directorial debut, but only now has the filmmaker experienced international recognition and mainstream acclaim.
An experienced documentarian before moving into narrative films, 2013’s Age of Panic symbolises a logical progression by adopting a verité style and wrapping its fictional narrative around the events of the previous year’s French presidential elections. Her next project, In Bed with Victoria, marked a full-blown shift into fiction.
2019’s Sybil was Triet’s third consecutive dramatic comedy, but she switched up genres yet again for the latest powerful legal thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, which led to a worldwide breakthrough. As well as recouping its production budget four times over and then some at the global box office, the acclaimed procedural has gained plenty of awards season notice.
A Golden Globe winner for ‘Best Screenplay’ and ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, Triet is now a two-time Academy Award nominee. Anatomy of a Fall was shortlisted for ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’, creating significant interest and excitement over her next steps in the industry.
The majority of aspiring French filmmakers are inspired in one way or another by the nation’s titans of cinema. This list includes the pioneers of the French New Wave, such as Jean-Luc Godard, Claire Denis, Louis Malle, Agnès Varda and François Truffaut, among others.
However, despite appreciating words of wisdom laid down by the latter, she isn’t the biggest fan of his work. Truffaut might be a defining name in the French New Wave movement, an important figure in both French and worldwide cinema with a string of classics including The 400 Blows, Day for Night, and The Last Metro in his filmography, Triet has never been enamoured by his output.
“I like what François Truffaut said: ‘Always make each film against your last one,'” she told The Guardian. “It doesn’t mean you don’t like the last one – it’s just about discovering something different.” That sentiment was clearly taken on board as Triet repeatedly expanded her filmmaking horizons, but that didn’t shift her perceptions of his back catalogue as a whole.
When discussing her favourite movies with Le Cinéma Club, 1983’s Confidentially Yours was singled out as “the only film by Truffaut that I like”. It might be the only feature of his that she holds an emotional attachment to, but seeing as in her own words, “This one I love,” it’s got a special place in her heart.
Based on Charles Williams’ novel The Long Saturday Night, the comedic mystery caper finds a real estate broker becoming the prime suspect in the murder of his wife and her lover. With nobody on his side but his faithful secretary, she digs deeper into the matter while uncovering several shocking revelations, all while harbouring a secret and long-lasting love for her employer. There are certain shades of Anatomy of a Fall to be superficially gleaned, making it even more fitting that Confidentially Yours is the only Truffaut that Triet cares for.
