François Truffaut: The Lost Secret

by Anne Gillain, Alistair Fox (Translator)

“Truffaut fans will love this English translation of Gillain’s work drawing on the psychology and cinematography of the acclaimed filmmaker.” —Booklist   For François Truffaut, the lost secret of cinematic art is in the ability to generate emotion and reveal repressed fantasies through cinematic representation. Available in English for the first time, Anne Gillain’s François The Lost Secret is considered by many to be the best book on the interpretation of Truffaut’s films.   Taking a psycho-biographical approach, Gillain shows how Truffaut’s creative impulse was anchored in his personal experience of a traumatic childhood that left him lonely and emotionally deprived. In a series of brilliant, nuanced readings of each of his films, she demonstrates how involuntary memories arising from Truffaut’s childhood not only furnish a succession of motifs that are repeated from film to film, but also govern every aspect of his mise en scène and cinematic technique.   “Brilliant . . . A delicious reexamination . . . that will make us want to sit down and take in all of Truffaut’s wonderful filmography at once.” —PopMatters

Genres: Film

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Gregory Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected

I need to start downloading a sample of books before I blindly jump into a purchase. I thought this was going to be a biography of Truffaut. Instead it is long and tedious analysis of his films. This is the type of book I tend to avoid. Since I've only seen a few of his films the majority of the book I was adrift and the author gets so lost in her dissection of each film that it might alienate those of us who are unfamiliar with his work. This is for those who have have seen his films and looking for a deep dive into the meaning. I found it dull and didn't spur me to go out and watch his films. Two stars is a generous rating. The likelihood that I reread this book are Zero.