The iconic Jean-Paul Belmondo with Jean Seberg in "Breathless"
More than 50 years after “Breathless” Cannes finally gave Jean-Paul Belmondo a Palme d’Or.
Belmondo, one the biggest stars of The French New Wave was awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor Tuesday during a special evening devoted to his legacy, which included a screening of “Belmondo, The Career,” a documentary by Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech.
“I am very moved by this Palme d’or which has touched my heart,” Belmondo said. “I’d like to thank all those here today, people I know or don’t know. A big thank-you from the bottom of my heart.”
The celebrated actor gained international fame in the 1960s with his cocky, charming performances in Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal New Wave films “Breathless” and “Pierott Le Fou,” and Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Leon Morin,” “Priest” and “The Fingerman.”
“The international photographers had laid down their cameras in order to applaud him on the red steps,” festival director Thierry Frémaux said. “We had been trying to persuade him to accept this tribute for several years.”
