Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.

Life and career

Leconte grew up in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at

Institut des hautes études cinématographiques L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC; the "Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies") is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. ...

. While attending film school in the late 1960s, Leconte also worked as a cartoonist, in particular for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

''. He directed his first feature film in 1976, and had a number of major successes with comedy films that were barely distributed outside France. He first came to international attention in 1989 with '' Monsieur Hire'', which was shown at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and which was a radical departure from his previous work. Although he had already directed more than half a dozen features, many foreign critics, unfamiliar with his previous work, essentially treated him as a newcomer. Since then, he has alternated between films such as ''

Ridicule Mockery or mocking is the act of insulting or making light of a person or other thing, sometimes merely by taunting, but often by making a caricature, purporting to engage in imitation in a way that highlights unflattering characteristics. Mock ...

'' and ''

L'homme du train ''The Man on the Train'' (french: L'homme du train) is a 2002 French crime-drama film directed by Patrice Leconte, starring Jean Rochefort and Johnny Hallyday. It was re-titled ''Man on the Train'' in the USA. The film was shot in Annonay, Fr ...

'' which have had success in the international arthouse market, and others, like '' Les Grands Ducs'', whose appeal has been limited to France. In the 2000s, Patrice Leconte received more recognition in the United States with the successful United States releases of ''

Girl on the Bridge ''The Girl on the Bridge'' (french: La fille sur le pont) is a 1999 French drama film shot in black and white and directed by Patrice Leconte, starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. Plot After an interview sequence with a girl, the plo ...

'', ''

The Widow of Saint-Pierre ''The Widow of Saint-Pierre'' (french: La veuve de Saint-Pierre) is a 2000 Canadian-French film by Patrice Leconte with Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil and Emir Kusturica. Loosely inspired by an actual case, it tells the story of a disillusioned ...

'', '' Man on the Train'' and '' Intimate Strangers'' (

Paramount Classics Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Paramount Global as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally ...

released three of these films in the United States). Ryan Mottesheard of

IndieWIRE IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

wrote: "you could even argue that no other foreign filmmaker (INCLUDING

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

) has had as strong of an impact on United States arthouses." An English language remake of Leconte's film '' Man on the Train'' was remade by an independent Hollywood studio in 2011, and two others are in 'development': '' Intimate Strangers'' and '' My Best Friend''. Patrice Leconte's film, ''The Suicide Shop'', was screened at the

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, on 28 April and 2 May 2013.

Director

Notes

* Lisa Downing, ''Patrice Leconte'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004)

References

External links

*
Patrice Leconte
at

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

Short bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leconte, Patrice 1947 births Living people French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters 21st-century French screenwriters Best Director César Award winners Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award French male film actors 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors Film directors from Paris