Directed by Gisèle Braunberger • Documentary • 1968 • 22 minutes
Actor Gisèle Braunberger sits across a small table from Jean Renoir. She leans forward, focusing intently on the director, her hands rhythmically fidgeting, as he outlines the premise of the script page he is about to work through with her—a scene from the Rumer Godden novel Breakfast with the Nikolides.
Renoir breaks the text down to its basics, a process which slowly and organically allows character to emerge. He begins with Braunberger reading the script with no affect at all—like a child reading a phone book. Each time she shows emotion, even for a syllable, he stops her. But despite his rigidity, he remains compassionate and supportive.
In this short film, which is directed by Braunberger, we see the process in action from first read all the way through to a powerful studio take. It is a fascinating insight into Renoir’s approach, and a mini master-class in developing authentic character.
Up Next in The Sixties
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Rocky Road to Dublin
Directed by Peter Lennon • Documentary • With Seán Ó Faoláin, Conor Cruise O’Brien, John Houston • 1967 • 67 minutes
ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN is a provocative and revealing portrait of Ireland in the Sixties, a society characterized by a stultifying educational system, a morally repressive and polit...
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The Making of 'Rocky Road to Dublin'
Directed by Paul Duane • Documentary • With Peter Lennon, Raoul Coutard • 2005 • 27 minutes
This documentary reunites director Peter Lennon and cinematographer Raoul Coutard, who recount the making of their then controversial but now classic documentary on Ireland in the Sixties. Rocky Road to D...
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The Sixth Side of the Pentagon
Directed by Chris Marker & François Reichenbach • Documentary • 1967 • 26 minutes
"If the five sides of the pentagon appear impregnable, attack the sixth side."— Zen proverb
On October 21, 1967, over 100,000 protestors gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam...
