Boulevard focuses on Georges 'Jojo' Castagnier, an adolescent who lives in a poor room under the roof of a block of apartments in the Pigalle section of Paris. He ran away from home when he realized that his step-mother hated him from day-one. Among Jojo's many neighbors is the gorgeous Jenny Dorr , a nightclub dancer, whose lover he dreams of being. But, to Jojo's disappointment, Jenny becomes the lover of Dicky, a former boxer, who spends his time loafing about the Pigalle cafés. Jojo lacks for steady work, but manages to meet his financial obligations with a series of odd jobs. He tries selling magazines, which is a success for a while, though posing as Narcissus for two gay artists proves to be something of a disaster. Eventually, he woos Marietta, one of his other neighbors and a girl more suited to his age. But when things go really awry, Jojo becomes desperate and tries to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of his building
Acting
Léaud's raw, pre-iconic desperation — he's 14 and already devastating.
Cinematography
Pigalle's neon-soaked gutters shot like a character in mourning.
Direction
Duvivier's late-career humanism, surprisingly tender for 1960.
Director
Julien Duvivier
Jean-Pierre Léaud
Georges Castagnier, dit "Jojo"
Pierre Mondy
Dicky, l'ancien boxeur
Magali Noël
Jenny Dorr, l'artiste chorégraphie
Georges Adet
Monsieur Arthur
Jacques Duby
Giuseppe Amato, un peintre
Jean-Marie Amato
le clochard qui ramasse les pièces
Mag-Avril
la vieille Joséphine
Betty Beckers
une danseuse
Robert Dalban
le forain, animateur de boxe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in 1959, this predates The 400 Blows by months — Léaud was discovered in a newspaper ad, making this technically his screen debut.
Duvivier was a titan of 1930s French cinema; this late work anticipates the New Wave's street-level authenticity while mourning the poetic realism he helped invent.
FR
