French actor, director and documentary filmmaker Jacques Behan died on April 21, local time, at the age of 80, according to Agence France-Presse. He starred in "Cinema Paradiso", "Spring of the Cattle Herding Class", and won the Venice Film Emperor for "Half a Man". Produced and directed nature documentaries such as "Migrating Birds", "Ocean", "Four Seasons of the Earth" and so on.
He is a legend in the history of cinema. Born in a drama family, he participated in movies at the age of 6 and performed on stage at the age of 15, setting a record of 400 consecutive performances in a play; at the age of 25, he starred in "Half a Man", won the Venetian Film Emperor in one fell swoop, and became a world-renowned palace-level actor;
At the age of 29, when his acting career was in full swing, he turned to the background and became a producer, and the first film he participated in the production of "Focus News" won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and five years later, he participated in the production of "Victory in the High Song".
He was Jacques Behan.
He said he hoped to live a thousand times in the movie. Since the 1990s, he has taken on a whole new identity – a documentary filmmaker. He spent 15 years producing the insect universe Microscopic Universe, which directed for the first time in Migrating Birds, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
From insects to birds, from birds to people, from people to oceans... From colonialism and dictatorship in his early works to the current record of biological extinction and natural destruction, he has always been concerned about the future and destiny of mankind. He once said, "If there were only humans in the world, it would be terrible." ”
He had been preparing for each documentary for at least three years, and the production team was unprecedentedly large, and the film budget was unimaginably astronomical.
Many people remember that he regarded cinema as a lot of life in "Cinema Paradiso"; he used film to record the ultimate natural image spectacle for the world, showing the romance of the Blood of the French.
Life will always be the subject of his documentaries. Today, also Earth Day, let's look back at Jacques Behan and his cinematic life.
How can the cost of achieving a dream not be expensive
At the age of 6, he made a cameo role in "Night's Gate". At the age of 25, he won the glory of best actor at the Venice Film Festival with "Half a Man", becoming one of the youngest film emperors in history.
Unfortunately, all this is not perfect in jacques Behan's view. "Purely being an actor is very passive, and when I'm an actor, I often feel that many of the subjects I like have not been made into a movie."
At the age of 29, he decisively gave up his golden age as an actor to turn to behind-the-scenes directing and production, and also achieved some success.
Beyond the small achievements, Jacques Behan was more confused. "I also began to find that the creation of film did not satisfy many natural, authentic expressions, so I turned to making documentaries. The realism of the documentary, in my opinion, is an expression of the soul that the human eye can see. ”
If you want to do it, you should do it all.
"Microscopic" Jacques Behan spent 20 years preparing materials and shooting videos, taking two years to design the filming equipment, and the actual shooting for 3 years.
"Himalayas" took three years to shoot at 13,500 kilometers and 27,000 meters above sea level.
"Migratory Birds" was filmed for more than four years, with more than $4 million and a film crew of 600 people, including the world's best pilots and scientific expeditions.
Ocean took five years, cost 50 million euros, 12 film crews, and 70 ships.
The little wolf cub in Four Seasons of the Earth
Soft grinding hard bubbles is Jacques Behan's most common trick. "I insisted on convincing them with the greatest enthusiasm, to meet 20 investors, the first 19 shook their heads, maybe the 20th nodded?" 」
When filming Ocean, Jacques Behan was looking for money while filming. "In the four years of filming, I kept looking for investment, and every two months I had to meet with all the investors, report, and wait for the next money to come in, which has been very painful."
Faced with the pain of finding money, Jacques Behan comforted himself with humor. He thinks that making a documentary is to fulfill a dream, "How can it not be expensive to achieve a dream?" ”
I just do what I want to do to the extreme
In addition to finding money, what kind of machine to use and how to transform the machine to perfectly capture the beautiful moments of nature is also a problem that Jacques Behan has been bothering.
"As a documentary filmmaker, all you can do is get ready and look forward to the camera you can dream of, to capture the beautiful moments."
The big geese in "Migrating Birds" fly with wings in pairs
When filming "Migrating Birds," Jacques Behan and his team let the birds relax their vigilance, and the 300-person film crew didn't shoot for the first year, just followed the birds around.
Official shooting begins in the second year. The film crew used a variety of new shooting equipment, such as powered umbrellas, small airplanes, and model airplanes with hidden cameras the size of birds, to fix special lenses in a probe and shoot from a distance.
Birds flying high in Migrating Birds
In Microscopic World, Jacques Behan uses a long-focal length microscope to zoom in on the world under the forest and grass, and insects, blades of grass, water droplets, etc., are clearly displayed one by one.
The snails in "Microscopic World" who love and kill each other
Jacques Behan is such a person, even if he does not have strong financial support and technical support, he will rack his brains to find funds and overcome technical difficulties.
Jacques Behan is an adventurous person who loves to try fresh challenges. "We have to create everything. This should be an innovation in this type of film. I'm more than willing to be the first person on this path. ”
Technically, Jacques Behan worked hard to modify the machine to match the shooting. In terms of documentary content, he asked to maintain the independence of the creator.
In "Ocean", the seals looking at the camera
When preparing "Ocean", Jacques Behan would write the script in advance, even draw the sub-shots, and then go to scientists and technicians to find suitable animals, environments, technologies, and equipment to express his themes.
The ghostly jellyfish in Ocean
Ocean is "the most expensive documentary of all time" and "the highest-grossing documentary of all time", and it has received rave reviews worldwide. In 2011, "Ocean" was released in China, and the box office exceeded 27 million yuan, breaking the box office record of domestic nature documentaries.
But Jacques Behan said he never expected box office. What he wants to do, "I just want to do what I want to do to the extreme." ”
For me, good emotions are the only thing that matters
"When I make documentaries, I don't want people to limit my subject matter, I want to make pictures that reflect humanistic care and reflect human nature, and these themes are of interest to us."
The celebration of life is the common voice in Jacques Behan's documentary, whether it is a small ant or an eagle with wings spread, they are trying to live every day. Jacques Behan, who recorded this, was happy, feeling the pulse and heartbeat of nature.
Jacques Behan was on the verge of bankruptcy when he made Ocean, but he felt it was all worth it.
Ladybugs in Microcosm
"Personal fatigue and illness are all their own business. What I care more about is the feeling of accompanying birds flying in the sky and living with fish, that expression of nature. I won't have any regrets, all aloneness is worth it, well worth it, so worth it! ”
In the production of the documentary, Jacques Behan insisted on not using human language as much as possible. "We've spent so much time, blending in with marine life, being one of them, turning a blind eye to us, being free to express our nature, showing pleasure, singing to the fullest, I don't think there's any need for human language anymore."
Jacques Behan searches for emotion in the desolate and indifferent nature, the occasional breeze in the violent snowy mountains, the white foam left by the roaring waves lapping at the surface of the sea, and the emotions of nature are rich but subtle.
"I'm not a professor, I'm not a politician, I don't say how to protect the environment, or make critical comments, I just want to make the audience emotionally touched through the lens, which is far more important than going to class and preaching." Because with memory, it is not forgotten, and non-compulsive emotions can be lasting and eternal. ”
Jacques Behan uses the documentary to leave a natural and true appearance, but also to warn mankind to protect Mother Earth. Dynamic pictures often leave people with a deeper feeling.
About Jacques Behan:
A famous European actor, director and documentary filmmaker, he started film in 1957. In 1966, he won best actor at the Venice Film Festival. In 1968, he produced the famous "Z", which won oscar for best foreign language film in 1969. In 1975, his film "Special Zone" won the French Cinema Award, and in the same year he produced "Victory Song" and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film again.
Beginning in 1988, he turned his gaze to nature and produced Monkey Clan. In 1990, Jacques Behan produced HORSLA VIE (Beyond Life), a work based on the true story of a journalist hostage for which he won the 1991 Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
Between 1994 and 1995, he began production of Microcosm. In September 1998, Jacques Behan began working on the himalayas, which was produced in December 1999 and won two César Awards and numerous international awards, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2000. From July 1998 to September 2001, Jacques Behan directed and produced the film Migratory Birds, which was again a huge success after its release.
The pictures and texts are synthesized from the Guangzhou International Documentary Festival (author: Chen Min), Bump Mirror DOC, and Toutiao Entertainment
Edit: Jiang Fang