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Jean Cocteau was one of the most iconic and versatile figures in 20th-century French art. A poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, draftsman, painter, and choreographer, he embodied the archetype of the complete artist, exploring and unifying diverse disciplines with unique grace and originality.
Born in Maisons-Laffitte on July 5, 1889, into a cultivated bourgeois family, Cocteau showed artistic predispositions very early on. After a youth marked by Parisian elegance and literary circles, he published his first collection of poems, La Lampe d'Aladin (Aladdin's Lamp), in 1909. His adolescence was also shaped by foundational encounters, notably with actor Édouard de Max and poet Max Jacob, who introduced him to artistic avant-gardes.
World War I confronted him with the reality of the world, and he enlisted as an ambulance driver. This experience, though brief, left a lasting impression. He then formed ties with major figures like Serge de Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes, for whom he wrote the librettos for revolutionary ballets such as Parade (1917), with music by Satie and sets by Picasso, marking an essential collaboration with the Cubists.
The 1920s and 1930s were intense. Cocteau explored surrealism (though he distinguished himself from it by his classical "order"), jazz, and theater. He published major novels like Le Grand Écart (The Grand Stand) (1923), Thomas l'imposteur (Thomas the Impostor) (1923), and especially Les Enfants terribles (The Holy Terrors) (1929), his most famous novel, which depicts a closed and fascinating world between siblings. In theater, he achieved success with plays like La Machine infernale (The Infernal Machine) (1934), a reinterpretation of the Oedipus myth.
Cocteau was also a prolific draftsman and painter. His often quick and stylized lines resulted in thousands of drawings, some of which decorated chapels (Villefranche-sur-Mer, Milly-la-Forêt).
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LE SANG D'UN POÈTE
1930 / b&w / sound / single screen / 55' 00 / 337 € distribution: 16mm |