As information of French cinema nice Jean-Luc Godard’s loss of life reverberated all over the world, residents within the small Swiss village the place he lived reminisced a couple of discreet however at all times type neighbour.
“I simply heard the information. I’m actually upset,” stated Sylvie Mezzena, who lived across the nook from Godard in Rolle.
The French movie legend had lived within the tiny village of simply over 6,000 folks on the shores of Lake Geneva for many years.
On Tuesday, Agnes Montavon, 62, stood exterior his green-shuttered home, which appeared closed and empty however had flowers hanging from the door deal with.
Montavon recalled how her “coronary heart beat a bit quicker” each time she bumped into him. “His loss of life has actually touched me,” she advised AFP.
Just a few streets away, the place Godard’s spouse Anne-Marie Mieville has a separate home, a black van arrived round noon (1000 GMT) Tuesday, and males went in carrying a stretcher.
Visibly upset, Mieville refused to talk with the journalists who started gathering exterior because the information of Godard’s loss of life unfold.
However within the city, many have been wanting to share their private recollections of the legendary maverick and father of the French New Wave.
– ‘Form and beneficiant’ –
He was well-known in Rolle, the place he would take every day walks to choose up his papers and go to cafes.
Christina Novais, a waitress on the Wolfisberg cafe, stated she served him espresso daily for years.
“Each morning, he had his small ristretto with a glass of water. Each morning, and typically he got here in twice a day,” she stated, remembering him as “type and beneficiant”.
Mezzena, a 50-year-old social science researcher, advised AFP she had been acquainted with the legendary filmmaker for 15 years, most frequently operating into him on the cafes the place they each most popular to work.
“He was a tough employee,” she stated, recalling how he usually sat till the late night with colleagues, discussing costumes and make-up.
“He was at all times out on this planet. He didn’t keep dwelling a lot,” she stated, describing him as “very human, and so good”.
Mezzena laughed recalling how Godard typically appeared extra taken with saying hey to canine than to folks.
“He liked animals, he was simply so type, and so candy,” she stated, including that the folks of Rolle had at all times been very protecting of him, refusing to inform the journalists usually sniffing round the place to search out the famend recluse.
Like most individuals right here, Mezzena describes Godard as “discreet”.
“He was actually a bear, however a sort bear,” she stated.
– ‘Large coronary heart’ –
Gino Siconolfi, a taxi driver who usually served as Godard’s chauffeur over the previous 20 years, agreed.
“He was a bit wild,” the 57-year-old stated, “however somebody with a giant coronary heart”.
Siconolfi stated that Godard typically most popular to sit down in silence for a complete journey, however at different occasions “he advised me his entire life.”
“I drove him for 20 years. I knew him nicely,” he stated.
Siconolfi even performed a job in Godard’s 2014 movie “Goodbye to Language”.
They “wanted a driver and a automobile, and requested if I wished to be within the film, and I stated sure,” he stated.
However he acknowledges he was not a lot of a fan of Godard’s films, which he stated he discovered “form of odd”.
Mezzena, nevertheless, was a fan, saying she discovered his immense work ethic “very spectacular”.
“He was working laborious up till just lately,” she stated, including although that she had seen him going out much less in current months and infrequently leaving Rolle, which “grew to become a little bit of a cocoon”.
The city, she stated, wouldn’t be the identical now that Godard is gone.
“He was actually a part of the surroundings… I believe it is going to be very unusual” with out him.
