Jacques Rivette dies

Farewell to a hero of the French New Wave.

by Jennie Kermode

Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette Photo: Raphael Van Sitteren

Celebrated French director and critic Jacques Rivette died today at the age of 87. One of the founders of the New Wave, together with the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut, he was known for Céline And Julie Go Boating, Paris Belongs To Us and numerous other acclaimed intellectual works. In 1991 he won the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prix for La Belle Noiseuse.

Rivette moved into filmmaking after writing for Cahiers du Cinéma, in which he cemented his reputation as a thinker. He wa a committed Marxist who frequently brought politics into his work. Like Marx, he was also known for the sheer length of his works, with Out 1 clocking in at nearly 13 hours.

Retiring in 2009, Rivette subsequently revealed that he had Alzheimer's disease. His passing was announced today by his producer.

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