Death of Jean-Jacques Beineix: for Richard Bohringer, there was "a before and after Diva"

In 1981, Richard Bohringer is 39 years old and, if he has worked for a long time in the theater as in the cinema, the general public does not know him.

“Diva”, and his smiling and worrying gaze when he smokes a cigar in his bath, launched his career, since shortly after he won two Césars for “L'Addition” (1984) and “Le Grand Chemin” (1987).

When asked if he was aware of the modernity of the film by Jean-Jacques Beineix, who died on Thursday January 13 at the age of 75, and of its place in French cinema, the actor burst out laughing: "But not at all.

I didn't think in those terms.

I thought of working, of those who gave me work.

I also want to salute those who gave me work and happiness before

, because of course there is a before and an after.

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We remind him that he was unknown at the time: “But we were a bunch of strangers.

All.

We never thought we'd make a film that would stay, not me anyway.

I just thought it would end up on videotape.

I have often seen him since.

It's a beautiful film that makes me laugh a lot!

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"It was his first film, but he didn't let himself be pushed around"

It is the agent Dominique Besnehard, future creator of the series "Ten percent", who introduces him to Jean-Jacques Beineix. On the set, he discovered an "extremely meticulous" filmmaker, "much more than the average director". “It was going very far. The setups were very complex on set. To place himself exactly in the light he wanted, it was more complicated than with another director, he recalls. It was his first film, but Jean-Jacques didn't allow himself to be pushed around. He was very demanding. All filmmakers are, but with him, this desire for perfection went even further. »

During filming, Richard Bohringer becomes friends with Gérard Darmon, who plays one of the gangsters in this wacky and poetic thriller.

“We never left each other with Gérard.

Jean-Jacques was different.

It was not easy, he had a very special life, apart from, we did not follow him, he observes.

For me, he was in a universal search, but he was neither distant nor cold as has been said.

, it was a beautiful family, with the technicians too.

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They lose sight of each other, but he still laughs when he is reminded that after Beineix, he is filming in Luc Besson's "Subway", another cult and very visual film from the 1980 aesthetic: "We are the three Bs, Beineix , Besson, Bohringer!

I met some guys.

Nice meeting.

They are part of it.

And of course my life has changed a lot.

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