Zhak Becker Director Date of Birth: 15.09.1906 Country: France

Biography of Jacques Becker

Jacques Becker (15.09.1906 - 21.02.1960) was a French film director. Despite his short career in the film industry, spanning only 18 years, Becker created several films that rightfully belong in the golden treasury of French and world cinema. He was born in Paris and began his working life in administrative positions. His encounter with Jean Renoir allowed him to fulfill his long-standing dream, as Becker became Renoir's long-time assistant. Some of the best films by Jean Renoir in the 1930s were made with Becker's involvement.

However, Jacques Becker dreamed of independent work and before the war, he made two short films. He was mobilized to the front, taken prisoner, and upon his return home in 1942, he directed the dynamic police film "Dernier Atout" (Last Trump) in American traditions, which the occupying authorities tolerated due to its theme. Becker then became one of the most prominent chroniclers of everyday life in French cinema. He depicted peasants in the film "Goupi Mains Rouges" (Goupi the Red-Handed, 1943) and fashion designers in "Dames de la Côte" (Ladies of the Coast). His films "Antoine Et Antoinette" (1947), "Edouard Et Caroline" (1946, awarded at the Cannes Film Festival in 1947), and "Rendezvous in July" focused on youth from different social backgrounds.

Afterwards, Jacques Becker tastefully immersed himself in the world of early 20th-century apaches in "Casque d'or" (Golden Helmet, 1952), shining with actors Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani. He explored the world of high-caliber crooks with a sense of friendship and sacrifice in the film "Grisbi" (Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, 1953). In the ironic "The Adventures Of Arsene Lupin" (1957), he again turned to a criminal plot. After the romantic "interlude" with the film "Montparnasse 19" (1958) about Modigliani, Becker directed the film "Le Trou" (The Hole, 1960) about a group of prisoners digging a tunnel, serving as an explorer of the criminal world in this film. Unfortunately, he did not live to complete the film; it was finished by his son and assistant, Jean Becker.

"I am French," Jacques Becker said. "The action in my films takes place in France, I work for the French, I observe the French, I am interested in the French." Becker was truly a national film director.