The announcement surprised many: the young film prodigy Xavier Dolan, 34, has decided to turn off his camera and no longer shoot for the big screen… A twist in the industry after an exceptional career: Jury Prize at Cannes for Mommy, Grand Prix du Festival for Just the End of the World – with three Caesars as a bonus – Quebecer Dolan established himself in the profession from the age of 20 with I killed my mother, before shooting eight films in ten years.
A flamboyant trajectory to which he put a stop in the Spanish press (El Mundo and El Pais), affirming “no longer having the strength to invest two years in a project so that then no one sees it “. And to evoke in particular the failure of his last realization, the series The night where Laurier Gaudreault woke up, broadcast in only four countries and which put him in financial difficulty – he had to borrow money from his father. A disappointment all the greater as she followed the disappointing box office figures of her last two films, My Life with John F. Donovan and Matthias and Maxime. “I put too much passion into it to suffer these disappointments. I end up wondering if my cinema isn’t bad when I know it isn’t. »
Fatigue, depression, burnout? Xavier Dolan insisted on explaining himself on Instagram, stating that he “was fine”, in order to reassure his fans. He also wished to rectify a sentence published by El Mundo where he considers that “art is useless and devoting oneself to cinema, a waste of time”. “The first part of this sentence is a broad generalization, and the second a pure invention, he specified, as reported by the Quebec newspaper La Presse. I will always be there to encourage artists and filmmakers.” And to confirm, however, his voluntary withdrawal: “I said that I wanted to stop making films, and I feel at peace with this decision. A lot of people told me it was just a break. But my current state of mind and the state of the world do not push me to continue what I believed to be an unwavering vocation. »
What is he going to do ? In El Pais, the Quebecer was somewhat cynical and disillusioned. “The easiest solution is to do commercials and build me a house in the country…” A few days later, he added, “I want to focus on my health, my friends, and my family. I also have other passions, other things to which I wish to dedicate myself. “And if he no longer turns for the cinema, he does not prohibit himself from producing productions for the small screen. “I’m still involved in television projects,” he continues on Instagram. And I intend to keep my word if they are given a chance…” A semi-retirement, then.
