French Cinema in Close-up: La vie d'un acteur pour moi
If you're feeling self-conscious about your lack of knowledge on French cinema, cease at once! Michaël Abecassis (of the University of Oxford) and Marcelline Block (of the Princeton University) have edited this illustrated mini-dictionary of French actors and actresses just for you.
Technically, yes, it is a dictionary. The words are listed in alphabetical order and there's a descriptive text to tell you what it's all about. But it's so much more than that.Here are 175 biographies of French (and a few Belgian) actors and actresses, written by contributors from all over the world who have at least one thing in common: they love French cinema. And they don't just settle for facts either but give their opinionated judgement on these actors' life. It's like having an in-depth look into each actor's acting, personality and career, except that you can read through it in two minutes.
What's more, the articles are illustrated by sketches and caricatures drawn by the very talented artists Jenny Batlay (PhD, Columbia University) and Igor Bratusek (Sorbonne), which makes it all even better. Have a look!
Do you recognise these oh-so funny French actors? *
And just for you, here’s the drawing of the wonderful Isabelle Adjani:
Did you like this blog? If yes, click here to learn more about Marcelline’s work. She wrote a blog about her fantastic new book French Cinema and the Great War: Remembrance and Representation, recently published (Feb. 16, 2016).
*Stop going crazy! Here’s the answers from the left to the right: Louis de Funès, Gad Elmaleh, Fernandel