“Art is useless and devoting time to filmmaking is a waste of time. With these words, Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan said he would stop making films.
This isn’t the first time Dolan has hinted at the end of his directing career. Since the release of his first series, The night where Laurier Gaudreault woke up, the Quebecer has hinted in a few interviews that he no longer wishes to continue on the same path.
The 34-year-old filmmaker has this time made a statement that could not be clearer, to Spanish media, including the newspaper El Mundo. ” I’m tired. I don’t see the need to continue. »
In January, Dolan told Le Monde that he “felt like he said everything [he had] to say” and spoke of a long break ahead. His thinking seems to have evolved and he is now much more categorical.
“I don’t understand what’s the point of insisting on telling stories when everything is falling apart around you. Art is useless and devoting oneself to cinema is a waste of time. I think about what my job is about and I see myself writing, filming, editing, being in post-production… And then traveling the world talking about what I have shot, edited and post-produced. We act like we have all the time in the world, but if there’s one thing we don’t have, it’s time. »
In the Spanish newspaper El Pais, he has also affirmed in recent days that he definitively renounces cinema and directing, also mentioning that all the work that comes with the realization of his works does not equal the results obtained, in particular from financial side.
Prior to Illico’s series The Night When Laurier Gaudreault Woke up, which received critical acclaim, Xavier Dolan directed eight feature films, including I Killed My Mother (2009), Mommy (2014), and his most recent, Matthias and Maxime (2019). He has also directed music videos, notably for British star Adele (for the songs Hello and Easy On Me). Xavier Dolan also has mentions of actor, producer and voice actor on his CV.
When asked by El Mondo newspaper what he plans to do next, Xavier Dolan replied, “I’m going to build myself a house and go take refuge there with my friends and watch the world burn. »
