The only François Truffaut movie Quentin Tarantino actually liked
Throughout his acclaimed journey as a filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino has always been hailed as one of the world’s most famous cinephiles. While some critics have used that description to attack his directorial style, others have been awed by his encyclopaedic knowledge of world cinema, which he incorporates into his own works. That’s exactly why his visual flairs are often associated with pastiche since he wears his influences on his sleeve.
Ranging from martial arts flicks from Hong Kong to grindhouse gems, Tarantino’s eclectic taste in movies has never been limited to one particular style or philosophical framework. On multiple occasions, the Pulp Fiction director has praised pioneers from all over the world, including the late French auteur Jean-Luc Godard. During his formative years, the French New Wave played a vital role in helping Tarantino redefine what cinema meant to him.
Moved by Godard’s irreverent treatment of filmmaking rules and his subversive editing techniques, Tarantino applied a similar kind of stylistic freedom to his own films. Despite the fact that he “outgrew” Godard in his later years, the American director will always be grateful to him for that early artistic liberation. However, he never felt the same kind of love for Godard’s acclaimed New Wave contemporary François Truffaut.
During a podcast appearance, Tarantino harshly criticised Truffaut’s style: “[Chabrol’s] thrillers are drastically better than the abysmal Truffaut-Hitchcock movies, which I think are just awful. I’m not a Truffaut fan that much, anyway. There are some exceptions, the main one being The Story of Adele H. But for the most part, I feel about Truffaut like I feel about Ed Wood. I think he’s a very passionate, bumbling amateur.“
Tarantino’s contempt for Truffaut was also evident in his novelisation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where he wrote: “He tried Truffaut twice, but he didn’t respond to him. Not because the films were boring (they were), but that wasn’t the only reason Cliff didn’t respond. The first two films he watched (in a Truffaut double feature) just didn’t grab him. The first film, The 400 Blows, left him cold. He really didn’t understand why that little boy did half the shit he did.”
As far as films by Truffaut go, The Story of Adele H. is definitely among the very best of the French auteur’s works. Featuring a breakthrough performance by the incredibly talented Isabelle Adjani, Truffaut’s 1975 historical drama revolves around Victor Hugo’s daughter and her obsessive, self-destructive love.
Watch the trailer below.
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