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Laurent Boutonnat

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Laurent Boutonnat (born 14 June 1961) is a French film composer and music video director, best known as the songwriting partner of Mylène Farmer and the director of several music videos.[1]

Career

Early Career and Collaboration with Mylène Farmer

Born in Paris, Boutonnat began his career at a young age, making his directorial debut with Ballade de la Féconductrice, a film known for its graphic content. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the beginning of his recognition within the film industry.

In 1984, Boutonnat began a long-term creative collaboration with singer Mylène Farmer, composing music for several of her albums while Farmer wrote the lyrics. This partnership extended to visual projects, with Boutonnat directing a series of music videos for Farmer. These videos were noted for incorporating literary and artistic references and received attention for their distinctive visual style. However, some of the content was controversial and faced censorship on certain television networks.

Feature Film and Later Career

Boutonnat's feature film directorial debut, Giorgino, was released in 1994. Although it was not a commercial success at the time, it has since gained a cult following.

Following a brief period of separation, Boutonnat and Farmer reunited and continued their creative partnership. They also collaborated with other artists, including Alizée, for whom Boutonnat directed music videos.

In 2007, Boutonnat directed Jacquou le Croquant, his first feature film since 1994. Variety gave the film a positive review, describing it as "feisty family fare" with "pleasingly Dickensian" themes.[2] The review highlighted the film as a "handsomely mounted, old-fashioned mini-epic",[2] praising its cinematography: "Painterly widescreen lensing wins the day. Shot in the burnished fields and rustic outcroppings of France and Romania, with a preference for classy amber and ochre tones, many scenes look like vintage etchings or oil paintings."[2]

In December 2010, Farmer released her eighth album, Bleu Noir, marking the first time in her career that she did not collaborate with Boutonnat. The two reunited in 2012 to compose all the songs for the album Monkey Me. However, Farmer’s subsequent albums were again created without Boutonnat's involvement. He was nonetheless part of the stage design team on her 2019 tour and they collaborated on a project for Julia in 2020.

Theatrical movies

Live videos

  • Mylène Farmer - En concert (1990)
  • Mylène Farmer - Live à Bercy (1997)

Music videos

Albums

Laurent Boutonnat worked as composer and producer on all the albums listed.

Movie soundtracks

References

  1. ^ "Mylène Farmer : les confessions inédites de Laurent Boutonnat, son compositeur historique".
  2. ^ a b c Nesselson, Lisa (23 Mar 2007). "Jacquou le Croquant (France-Germany)". Variety. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
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