French New Wave cinema was full of memorable faces, but few were as instantly recognizable, timeless and just plain fucking cool as Jean-Paul Belmondo. The actor got his major break working opposite Jean Seberg in Jean-Luc Godard‘s sublime “Breathless” and from there, his star would rise.
The 77-year-old actor has amassed an unbelievable resumé working with folks like Godard (“Pierrot le fou,” “Une femme est une femme“), Jean-Pierre Melville (“Le doulos,” “Leon Morin, Priest“), François Truffaut (“Mississippi Mermaid“), Claude Lelouch (“Les Misérables,” “Itinerary Of A Spoiled Child,” “Love Is A Funny Thing“), Alain Resnais (“Stavisky“) and Vittorio de Sica (“Two Lovers“). Of course, he didn’t just do arthouse fare, as he became one of France’s most beloved movie stars with roles in action and comedy films like “That Man From Rio,” “Borsalino” and “Joyeuses Pâques.”
All this to say, that this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Belmondo will be feted with the premiere of Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech’s documentary, “Belmondo, The Career” followed by a lavish dinner and party for him and his buds. But if it gets people hitting Netflix for his movies and reminds viewers of what a real screen icon looks like, mission accomplished.
