Jacquotte : Une fois par an, en juillet, sur la route de ses vacances, durant quelques heures, Jacquotte revit son enfance dans la maison restée intacte de ses parents chéris. Ils sont morts depuis longtemps, mais rien n’a été touché. Un jour, il faudra peut-être vendre… Daniel : Avant de quitter son appartement, Daniel vérifie dix fois qu’il a bien fermé fenêtres et robinets. Obsédé par la propreté, c’est tout un rituel pour se laver les mains. Il descend au café gratter les multiples propositions de La Française des Jeux. Il fut, avant de laisser tomber, un cinéaste très doué. Pourquoi ne veut-il jamais en parler ? Il blague et passe à autre chose…

La gaveuse, la romancière, la roulotteuse, la fleuriste, la cordonnière, la marchande de journaux, l'opticienne, la souffleuse de verre, l'illusionniste, l'accordeuse de piano, la corsetière, l'archetière, Jeannine aux fers - Parler et travailler Alain Cavalier trace les visages de femmes qu’il veut préserver de l’oubli. Ce sont des femmes qui travaillent, qui font des enfants et qui en même temps gardent un esprit d’indépendance…

La matelassière, la fileuse, la trempeuse, l'orangère, la brodeuse, la dame-lavabo, la relieuse, la bistrote, la canneuse, la repasseuse, la rémouleuse, la maître-verrier. Alain Cavalier trace les visages de femmes qu’il veut préserver de l’oubli. Ce sont des femmes qui travaillent, qui font des enfants et qui en même temps gardent un esprit d’indépendance…

Through the public and private toilets that he has enjoyed filming over fifteen years, Alain Cavalier evokes our daily lives which are less trivial than they would appear.

2002 film by Alain Cavalier

Alain is getting older. For years he has been filming his daily life: his partner Françoise, the people he meets, nature and animals, and life in all its splendour and cruelty. Having devoted his entire life to filmmaking, with the camera as an extension of his arm, he has observed the world with a poetic sense of authenticity and simplicity. Otherness, the approach of death, the power of life and the importance of others intertwine as he looks back on his life as a filmmaker and as a man, concealing nothing, and offering a vision of the universality of the human experience.

Philippe : Une actrice, un académicien, un boxeur, un comédien, Philippe, athlète complet de l’interview télévisée, se prépare à les interroger les uns après les autres. Une demi-heure chacun, sans ratures, en un après-midi. Il prend des cachets pour se calmer. Il prévoit que le marathon va être costaud. Bernard : Avec un éclairage de fortune, sur les planches d’un petit théâtre de Beauvais, Bernard, comédien, joue pour la première fois une pièce écrite par lui et dont il est le seul acteur. Il émeut les spectateurs mais il ne peut imaginer encore vers quoi le mènera cette représentation.

A man repaints his apartment. Through objects, photos, drawings he plunges back into his past. His future seems so dark that he ends up painting the whole apartment in black, including the windows, to absolute black.

The filmed diary of the filmmaker Alain Cavalier. More than ten years of his life and work are covered from 1994 to 2005.

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

2015 film by Alain Cavalier

2011 film by Alain Cavalier

In this drama that alludes to the Algerian War with France of the 1960s, Thomas is a deserter from the French Foreign Legion who is on the run from authorities. He helps damsel in distress Dominique, who has been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. Thomas is wounded but manages to escape after killing the guard who inflicted the injury. Dominique gives Thomas money to escape to France after he secures her freedom, but he is caught between the Foreign Legion and the terrorists seeking revenge.

The mistress of a wealthy man misses material comforts when she leaves him for a younger lover.

IMDb reviews: There's no dialogue in this movie because it doesn't need it. The visual do all the work. Every image is poetic and political. In this movie, we follow the resistants of a dictatorial regime through their effort of escaping it. In this case, an image equal thousand words. Flawless and important, a must see for every human being! Written by bemafalda. At the question "why there's no words in this movie?" Alain Cavalier said :"There's some moments in a lifetime, there's no need to talk" But, this is not a silent film. This is just about postures, and movements. Camera stay static to catch each little act as a resistance proof (Cuting a picture, making a bed, cleaning a glass...) Resistance to the oppression, resistance to film... We can think at "Pickpocket" of Bresson cause all is about acts. And when the camera stop on the glance of an actor(all of them where in social and financial difficulties. No famous actor in the movie) , without a word, it put you deep inside the tragedy of war. It's not only a movie about WW2, it's a movie about all the oppressions, helping the viewer to truly see and to have the courage to face them. A movie shot in studio, with almost no decoration set. Just what they gonna use ("Don't put a gun on stage if you're not going to use it" said a famous theater's author) Sadly, this movie, probably the most important of my life in a political and citizenship way, had never been released on VHS nor DVD. Written by marmitte.

When a young auto salesman is forced to give up a vacation with his wife in order to drive an American car to its new owner who lives on the French Riviera, he makes the best of things. First, he gets and old friend to ride along with him. Then, the two of them are joined by another pair of men who want to ride south. The four of them have a great time, talking about women and fatherhood, among other things... An entertaining intriguing road movie !

In a film as moving as a confession, the filmmaker portrays a veritable journey into the valley of the shadows to find Irène, his Eurydice.

1986 film by Alain Cavalier

Depuis l’enfance, j’ai eu la chance de traverser deux mini dépressions de bonheur et j’attends, tout à fait serein, la troisième. Ça me suffit pour croire en une certaine beauté de la vie et avoir le plaisir de tenter de la filmer sous toutes ses formes : arbres, animaux, dieux, humains… et cela à l’heure où l’amour est vif. L’innocence, le cinéaste en a perdu une partie. C’est si délicat à repérer autour de soi, si difficile à ne pas perdre au tournage. Ma reconnaissance va à ceux que vous regarderez à l’écran. Pour tenir tête au temps, j’ai une parade qui est de fouiller dans mon stock d’émotions et d’images anciennes. Non pour retrouver ce qui ne reviendra pas mais pour deviner dans l’hiver les signes du printemps. Cela permet de recommencer encore une journée d’un pas aisé.