Bertrand Blier
A provocative French filmmaker who specialized in the anarchic comedy of male confusion, upending sexual and social conventions with glee.
1939–2025 (age 86)·French film director and writer·Birthday: March 14·The Silent Generation
Biography
Bertrand Blier made films that felt like intellectual hand grenades, wrapped in farce and lobbed at the heart of French bourgeois propriety. The son of actor Bernard Blier, he grew up on film sets but forged a path entirely his own. His early work was documentary-like, but he found his explosive voice with films like 'Les Valseuses' (Going Places), a raucous, amoral road movie that scandalized and captivated audiences. Blier's world was one of role reversals, sexual panic, and the absurd logic of male desire, often portrayed by a recurring troupe of actors including Gérard Depardieu, Patrick Dewaere, and Miou-Miou. His 1978 film 'Get Out Your Handkerchiefs,' which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, perfectly encapsulated his style: a bizarre love triangle that treated its characters' existential whims with deadpan seriousness. For decades, Blier continued to craft dark, witty, and deeply uncomfortable comedies that challenged audiences to laugh at their own deepest insecurities about love, power, and identity.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Bertrand was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bertrand Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Bertrand's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Could drive
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 60
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 70
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 80
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2025Died at 86
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for 'Get Out Your Handkerchiefs' in 1979.
- Directed 'Going Places' (Les Valseuses), a culturally seminal film that defined a generation's rebellious, anarchic spirit in 1970s France.
- Won the César Award for Best Film and Best Director for 'Too Beautiful for You' in 1990.
- His film 'Buffet froid' is celebrated as a masterpiece of absurdist, existential black comedy.
Did You Know?
He originally intended to be a novelist and published a book, 'The Hitler I Loved', before turning to cinema.
His father, Bernard Blier, was a famous character actor in French cinema, often playing grumpy or cynical roles.
The controversial 'Going Places' was initially banned from advertising on French television.
He frequently collaborated with composer Georges Delerue, who scored many of his early films.
“My films are not psychological. They are metaphysical farces.”
