An emblematic filmmaker of the New Wave, a renowned critic, and a film theorist. François Truffaut successfully reconciled his own high standards, intellectual circles, and popular success.
He was not only a director, but also a critic (through his articles in Les Cahiers du Cinéma), a theorist, through the numerous interviews, the extensive correspondence he bequeathed to us, and the interviews he dedicated to Alfred Hitchcock, who was scorned at the time (and which undeniably contributed to forging the legend he became).
Much like Winston Freer, who once cataloged 17 families of magical effects, Truffaut took the time to list the commonalities among all the films he championed (themes, framing, colors, camera angles, etc.) to prove that these filmmakers were true authors, something many denied in the 1950s. Thus, he was able to derive real rules to help directors create their own filmographies, but also to provide viewers with a true framework for appreciating a film. Stepping aside, these are also a valuable aid in constructing our performances and for reflection!
Principle 1 – THE DOUBLE
The theme of the double, through the presence of mirrors, reflections, and mimicry, is a central element in Truffaut's films. The mirror is indeed the basis of a parallel reality, another dimension that allows us to justify many effects. Furthermore, if we delve deeper into the analysis, it is also the idea that the magician and the trick presented are a mirror of the spectator (of their dreams, fears, beliefs, sometimes limiting).
Always having a pocket mirror, a triptych mirror, a crystal ball, a window, a screen can be the basis of a solid script that could even be the backbone of the entire act.
Principle 2 – THE LEITMOTIF
The return of a central character from film to film (with the same actor) is one of the essential characteristics of Truffaut's films. By multiplying winks, leitmotifs, by regularly bringing back a line, a witty remark, an object at different moments of your show, you give the audience the feeling that your performance is structured, thoughtful, and that you always land on your feet.
For example, in a film, if a weapon appears hanging on the wall at the beginning of the film, sooner or later that weapon will have to be used; if a closed chest is lying in a corner of the room, that chest will have to be opened; and if a letter is carelessly placed on a corner of a desk, that letter will have to be unsealed, but only later will we understand its purpose.
Principle 3 – THE LASTING IMPRESSION
A film, like a magic trick, must contain one or more moments that leave a strong, precise, striking, and indelible memory. Truffaut said that a moment in the film should stick in the viewer's mind "for several years." This moment is not necessarily the final image of the trick.
It can come from the presence of a quick, unusual, paradoxical, provocative, poetic phrase or sequence of words that changes the course of the story or the perception of our character.
Moreover, the "climax" (the culminating point of our act) must be created by the entire situation, the idea of the scene, which is so unusual, outlandish, iconoclastic that it could not have been invented, that it must be true.
Finally, this "strong moment" should rarely occur more than three or four times in the same film; beyond that, it loses its effectiveness.
Cultivating the art of paradox, of rupture to surprise the spectator, to defuse the scene, to avoid clichés, while retaining the advantages of the situation, is for Truffaut a "praiseworthy bias at a time when the spectator is often a hundred steps ahead of the rest of the story."
It is this taste for paradox, this desire to do the opposite of what others expect or what others do, that makes his work a permanent shift that makes the work so vibrant, so unexpected, and gives it so much strength.
For example, how many times have we pretended not to find a chosen card, before revealing that we deliberately failed?
Indeed, this kind of twist is interesting and adds depth to our performance (although in my opinion, this approach can give the impression of "challenging" the audience and wanting to "take advantage of their credulity" if overused).
Wouldn't it be interesting to reveal a wrong card, then a second, then a third, not because we made a mistake, but rather because we CANNOT find that card: because it was never in the deck, there is no deck of cards, the deck was never printed, the deck is a block, etc.
Principle 4 – THE LINK
Watching a Truffaut film means becoming aware of the importance of the link: what is presented should not be a succession of "strung pearls."
On the contrary, narration is our master weapon; it is the arrangement of the pearls that will make all the difference (their number, size, color, alternation, etc.). We can thus speak of the link between the tricks we present, but also between the audience and the narrator (in our case, the magician).
Before thinking about the narrator's talent, it might be interesting to ask who the narrator is? Is it the magician performing their text?
Is it an object being presented (text read from an old grimoire, a mysterious parchment, an instruction manual, etc.)?
Is it an external narrator (a code to decipher, a voice-over, a message on an answering machine, an SMS, an email, the spectator(s)?)?
The link is often illustrated in his films in various ways (use of letters, correspondence, phone calls, a voice-over addressing the viewer, etc.).
This "indirect" mode of communication allows him to express ideas that might seem immodest, false, overacted, or overly melodramatic.
Principle 5 – THE RHYTHM
It is often said that great storytellers base their art on a certain way of taking their time, Truffaut did not. For him, a film should "be like a train speeding through the night," moving at full throttle.
Furthermore, Truffaut does not recount an action but narrates feelings. The action actually has very little importance: we don't ask "how will it end?" but rather "what will happen to the characters?"
In magic, we agree that the audience remembers very little of the effects presented to them. In reality, the audience only remembers what they felt.
As we have understood, for Truffaut, combining all these principles allows him to start from the material and the particular to lead the spectator towards the abstract, the general, the universal.
Ultimately, Truffaut constantly moves away from ambient reality (no social, political, or psychological dimension), either by referring to a past, imaginary, inner, or sentimental reality.
In conclusion, the exercise I proposed to you today is a real creative approach that I often practice: immersing myself in a subject, a theory, a quote, even a simple title and replacing the keyword with the word "magic." You wouldn't believe how powerful this approach is.
Just by taking the titles of François Truffaut's films, we find "The 400 Tricks," "Shoot the Magician," "Gentle Magic," "Stolen Magic," "Wild Magic," "American Magic," "Pocket Magic," "Magic on the Run," "The Last Trick," etc.
