Jean Genet

Writing

Jean Genet

Born December 19, 1910 · Paris, France

Died April 15, 1986 · aged 75

Jean Genet was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later took to writing. His major works include the novels The Thief's Journal and Our Lady of the Flowers, and the plays The Balcony, The Maids and The Screens.

Known For

QuerelleQuerelle · 1982
Querelle
6.61982
MovieDramaCrime
French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband: if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane; if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose.
Genet à ChatilaGenet à Chatila · 1999
Genet à Chatila
6.71999
MovieDocumentary
A documentary about the French writer Jean Genet and his relations with the Palestinian revolution. One day after the September 1982 massacre at the refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut, Genet visits the camp. Suffering from throat cancer and having written nothing in years, Genet begins to write on the threshold of his death about this disturbing new experience. It leads to his last book, entitled “Un captif amoureux” in which Genet reflects on the Palestinian revolution, its defeat, and the loss of one’s homeland. In this film a young French woman of Algerian origin who is reading the book returns to the landscapes of the Palestinian resistance and the refugee camps full of exiles, in search of Genet.
Poor Pretty EddiePoor Pretty Eddie · 1975
Poor Pretty Eddie
5.21975
MovieHorrorDrama
A wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a cocksure, volatile country singer.
RitualRitual · 1975
Ritual
1975
Movie
It's a staging of The Maids, which, set in the 1930s, tells the story of two sisters working in the house of an abusive woman. Genet's film begins with a ritual: the lighting of candles. It's a black and white film with complex lighting design.
Condemned and PossessedCondemned and Possessed · 1967
Condemned and Possessed
3.01967
Movie
Non-professional players try to create the poetic world of Jean Genet in filmic terms.
The MaidsThe Maids · 1975
The Maids
5.81975
MovieDrama
A film version of Genet's play. Two maids, Solange and Claire, hate their employers and, while they are out, take turns at dressing up as Madame and insulting her.
Le sphinxLe sphinx · 1986
Le sphinx
7.01986
MovieDocumentary
Fragments of a text by Jean Genet – “Four Hours in Chatila” – are illustrated by summer images of a park in Brussels. The contrast between what is seen and what is said attempts to stop, to break the flow of information which tends to neutralize horror.
MademoiselleMademoiselle · 1966
Mademoiselle
7.01966
MovieDrama
A sexually repressed school teacher releases her pent up passions in a series of shocking crimes.

Filmography

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