Contemporary French Civilization

“Jean-Pierre, c’est moi”: polyglossia and blurred identities in the films of Jacques Audiard

Contemporary French Civilization (2018), 43, (1), 109–124.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3828/cfc.2018.7
Language
English
Pages
16

Abstract

This article engages a heretofore unexplored dimension of Jacques Audiard’s work, the prevalence of languages other than the director’s native French. Winner of the Cannes Festival Palme d’Or, Dheepan (2015), whose dialogues are predominantly in Tamil, constitutes the most extreme manifestation of polyglossia in the director’s filmography. Each of his earlier films participates in a system of representation in which communication never comes easily, and in which characters’ success is predicated upon their mastery of the French language. They show a France defined by the brutality of human relationships and incommunicability between people, which only language transcends. Communication proves all the more difficult because nobody’s identity is to be taken for granted. Indeed, far from cinematic clichés picturing France as a homogenous, museum-like place, Audiard strives to represent a multilingual, multicultural, and postnational society. Finally, the confrontation of multiple languages within his films allows Audiard to self-define as a global auteur whose cinema seeks to reach beyond a strictly national audience and to address an international market.

Cet article porte sur une dimension jusqu’ici inexplorée de l’oeuvre de Jacques Audiard, à savoir l’utilisation de langues autres que le français dans la quasi-totalité de ses films. Auréolé d’une Palme d’Or au Festival de Cannes, Dheepan (2015), dont la majorité des dialogues est en langue tamoule, constitue la manifestation la plus exacerbée de la polyglossie dans la filmographie du réalisateur. Chacun des films précédents participe à un système de représentation où la communication n’est jamais aisée et où la maîtrise de la langue française conditionne la réussite des personnages. Audiard montre une France marquée par la sauvagerie des rapports humains et l’incommunicabilité entre les hommes, que seul semble pouvoir transcender le verbe. Communiquer est d’autant plus difficile que l’identité de chacun ne va pas de soi. En effet, Audiard s’attèle à représenter une société polyglotte, multiculturelle et post-nationale, loin des clichés cinématographiques qui tendent à solidifier l’image d’une France lisse et homogène aux allures de musée. Enfin, la confrontation de langues multiples au sein de ses films contribue à poser Audiard comme un auteur international dont le cinéma cherche à dépasser une logique d’exploitation strictement nationale pour se tourner au contraire vers un marché global.

Access Token

FormatArticle

£25.00
READ THIS ARTICLE
References
Full Text
PDF
If you have private access to this content, please log in with your username and password here

Dobson, Julia. “Jacques Audiard and the Filial Challenge.” Studies in French Cinema, vol. 7, no. 3, 2007, pp. 179–189. Jacques Audiard and the Filial Challenge Studies in French Cinema 7 179 189 Google Scholar

Dobson, Julia. “Jacques Audiard – Twenty-First Century Auteur.” Studies in French Cinema, vol. 16, no. 3, 2016, pp. 187–189. Jacques Audiard – Twenty-First Century Auteur Studies in French Cinema 16 187 189 Google Scholar

Dwyer, Tessa. “Universally Speaking: Lost in Translation and Polyglot Cinema.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, vol. 4, 2005, pp. 295–310. Universally Speaking: Lost in Translation and Polyglot Cinema Linguistica Antverpiensia 295 310 Google Scholar

“Entretien avec Jacques Audiard.” Projection privée, France Culture, 2 Jun. 2012. Web. Entretien avec Jacques Audiard Projection privée Google Scholar

Garncarz, Joseph. “Made in Germany: Multiple-Language Versions and the Early German Sound Cinema.” “Film Europe” and “Film America”: Cinema, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange, 1920–1939, edited by Andrew Higson and Richard Maltby, U of Exeter P, 1999, pp. 249–273. Made in Germany: Multiple-Language Versions and the Early German Sound Cinema “Film Europe” and “Film America”: Cinema, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange, 1920–1939 249 273 Google Scholar

Kealhofer, Leslie, and Alec G. Hargreaves. “Back to the Future? Language Use in Films by Second-Generation North Africans in France.” Polyglot Cinema: Migration and Transcultural Narration in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, edited by Verena Berger and Miya Komori, Lit Verlag, 2010, pp. 75–87. Back to the Future? Language Use in Films by Second-Generation North Africans in France Polyglot Cinema: Migration and Transcultural Narration in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain 75 87 Google Scholar

King, Gemma. “Code-Switching as Power Strategy: Multilingualism and the Role of Arabic in Maïwenn’s Polisse (2011).” Australian Journal of French Studies, vol. 52, no. 2, 2015, pp. 162–173. Code-Switching as Power Strategy: Multilingualism and the Role of Arabic in Maïwenn’s Polisse (2011) Australian Journal of French Studies 52 162 173 Google Scholar

King, Gemma. “The Power of the Treacherous Interpreter: Multilingualism in Jacques Audiard’s Un Prophète.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series. Themes in Translation Studies, no. 13, 2014, pp. 78–92. The Power of the Treacherous Interpreter: Multilingualism in Jacques Audiard’s Un Prophète Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series. Themes in Translation Studies 78 92 Google Scholar

Kozloff, Sarah. Overhearing Film Dialogue. U of California P, 2000. Overhearing Film Dialogue Google Scholar

Met, Philippe. “Oedipal Mayhem: Rituals of Masculinity and Filiation in Jacques Audiard’s Regarde Les Hommes Tomber.” Australian Journal of French Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, 2006, pp. 94–102. Oedipal Mayhem: Rituals of Masculinity and Filiation in Jacques Audiard’s Regarde Les Hommes Tomber Australian Journal of French Studies 43 94 102 Google Scholar

Morrey, Douglas. “The Rough and the Smooth: Narrative, Character and Performance in Fingers (1978) and De Battre Mon Cœur S’est Arrêté/The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005).” Studies in French Cinema, vol. 16, no. 3, 2016, pp. 190–204. The Rough and the Smooth: Narrative, Character and Performance in Fingers (1978) and De Battre Mon Cœur S’est Arrêté/The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) Studies in French Cinema 16 190 204 Google Scholar

Richman, Michèle. “The French Sociological Revolution from Montaigne to Mauss.” SubStance, vol. 31, no. 1, no. 97, 2002, pp. 27–35. The French Sociological Revolution from Montaigne to Mauss SubStance 27 35 Google Scholar

Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. “The Cinema after Babel: Language, Difference, Power.” Screen, vol. 26, no. 3–4, August 1985, pp. 35–59. The Cinema after Babel: Language, Difference, Power Screen 35 59 Google Scholar

Wahl, Chris. “‘Du Deutscher, Toi Français, You English: Beautiful!’ – The Polyglot Film as a Genre.” Shifting Landscapes: Film and Media in European Context, edited by Miyase Christensen and Nezih Erdoğan, Cambridge Scholars, 2008, pp. 334–350. ‘Du Deutscher, Toi Français, You English: Beautiful!’ – The Polyglot Film as a Genre Shifting Landscapes: Film and Media in European Context 334 350 Google Scholar

If you have private access to this content, please log in with your username and password here

Details

Author details

Massonnat, François