André Cayatte

Who was André Cayatte?

André Cayatte (3 February 1909, Carcassonne – 6 February 1989, Paris) was a French New Wave filmmaker and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility, themes which Cayatte persisted in affirming regardless of changing contemporary attitudes. Some of Cayatte's earlier films that covered these themes include Justice est faite (Justice is Done, 1950), Nous sommes tous des assassins (We Are All Murderers, 1952), and Le passage du Rhin (Tomorrow Is My Turn) (1960). In 1963, André Cayatte undertook a bold experiment in film narrative with a set of two films entitled Jean-Marc ou La vie conjugale (Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc), and Françoise ou La vie conjugale (Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise). Anatomy of a Marriage tells the same story from two different points of view, forming a cinematic pairing that anticipated later works like Alain Resnais’ Smoking/No Smoking (1993). His 1973 film Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu won the Silver Bear Special Jury Prize at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.