COCTEAU AND COMPAGNIE

More than any other, Jean Cocteau was an artist of his times. His thirst for discovery and knowledge led him to dabble in every form of art: literature and poetry, the plastic arts, cinema and theatre and even dance and music. This eclecticism was fuelled throughout his life by a profusion of artistic and romantic encounters, from Stravinsky to Picasso, from Coco Chanel to Jean Marais, that have inspired this film. It’s a stylistic exercise applied to his life itself and takes the shape of a photo album that we leaf through, stopping at a page from time to time. At that point, a beloved face comes to life, some music plays, his cinema and theatre reinvents itself or Cocteau’s words dazzle us. Stopping at these brilliant pages, according to an improvised order, we are able to show what lay behind his prodigious creativity and multifaceted work in this life that contained several lifetimes. Then, beyond this exploration of appearances, appears an unknown and secretive Cocteau, distancing himself from the world and from his own image, that could reveal further truths about this major 20th century figure.