Brigitte Bardot, l’icône rebelle immortelle
Always beautiful, unbelievable, selfish, It’s not true! liar, it’s not true! amoral, no modesty, it’s not true! indecent. it’s not true! But it is true! I thank you
for being what you are. What a beautiful woman! She was truly a luminous beauty. She’s the most beautiful
woman in the world. Journalists used to ask
her: Are you a sex symbol? And she’d answer: What about you? All of a sudden, Brigitte arrived, topless, barefoot, hair down. In the street, it was: Ah,
that’s it, Bardot, that bitch! She’s always been free,
and she’s paying dearly for it. She’s persecuted like no one else. I’m a bit tired, excuse me. It was a way of drawing a
line under her superficial life. We’ll get them! Is Brigitte happy? In the end, that’s the recurring question. When I’m 80, I think I’ll be different. Every summer, it’s the same ritual. 20 times a day, the boat sails along the Bay of
Saint-Tropez towards La Madrague, Brigitte Bardot’s famous home. From the beach, you can hear
the guide recount the star’s life…. “And God Created Woman”,
with a magnificent Brigitte Bardot. Everyone wants to come and see this
magical place where Et Dieu créa la femme was filmed, and everyone wants to
see Brigitte Bardot and this place where Brigitte Bardot lives. In 1958, Brigitte Bardot bought herself
a fisherman’s cottage, La Madrague. Brigitte, who hears her life spouted out
over loudspeakers every day, every day, every day. All this in German, English,
French and maybe soon in Chinese. I don’t know, it just goes on and on. When you’ve been hearing that for 40
years, that it’s Brigitte Bardot’s house, in the end it gets on her nerves a bit. So, every morning during the summer, she leaves La Madrague to
take refuge in another house, hidden in the hills, out of sight. She puts away her walking sticks, she climbs her dogs and then heads off
to The Garrigue to her animals, where she is protected. On the eve of her 80th birthday, despite the fact that she hasn’t made
a film in 40 years and has refused to appear in the media for years, Brigitte Bardot hasn’t
managed to forget herself. The myth lives on. So how did this myth come about? It all began with an initial escape. Escape from a family straitjacket too
rigid, too narrow for a woman who dreamed of freedom at a time when women, young
and old alike, had no real access to it. Pouty and giggly, nonchalant and excessive, Bardot walked a tightrope
of paradox all her life. In the end, was she aware that she
was revolutionizing her era at the whim of her desires, inventing
and shaping the contours of an
unclassifiable, elusive being? What place will men
have in this tumultuous life? Who will love whom?
Who will play with whom? Notoriety with her,
or her with notoriety? Sometimes it’s hard to follow the line of
this destiny in which she has lost herself. In any case, she has
always followed her instincts. Fame had become suffocating, and the
beauty she had tended to see slipping away led her to choose with panache
to disappear from the scene. From then on, only animals would
bring her out of her silence and isolation. A sincere struggle to which she
bequeathed her time and fortune. And then there were the words, the books,
the condemnations and the scent of scandal. She’ll be talking about
all that in a moment. After more than 10 years of silence in
front of the cameras, she has agreed to return to the story, that of BB, that of Bardot, that of Brigitte, who in
1940 was just 6 years old. We are in Louveciennes, in the Yvelines. Every weekend, the Bardot family
leaves their luxurious apartment in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris, to come here, to recharge their batteries, far from the tumult of war. Louis Bardot is a wealthy industrialist. With his wife Toti, they had 2 daughters, Brigitte the eldest and
Mijanou the youngest. Toti was her mother, who was as beautiful as the day, as Venetian as anything. I had a passion for her! And Louis Bardot, who was a kind
of insect, about this tall, with glasses, who had a wonderful sense
of humor, who was funny. Brigitte is a loving, well-bred girl. But Toti only has God
for his sister Mijanou, the pride of her family. Throughout her childhood, the girl who would
become the most beautiful woman in the world
was ugly and unloved. With her braces, with her
glasses to correct her myopia, she thought she looked awful. She realized that people
preferred her little sister. She feels hurt that she’s considered
the ugly duckling of the family. She’s very, very bad at
school, always coming last. She’s bad enough, while her sister is
obviously following the fold. Despite this, Brigitte does everything
she can to please her mother, to attract her attention, until the day the bond is broken. One evening, while playing in the living
room of their Parisian apartment, Brigitte and Mijanou knock over a vase. A family treasure dating
back to the 19th century. And their parents are furious. Toti, Brigitte’s mom, told Brigitte, who was 7 and a half years old, and her sister Mijanou, from now on, you are
no longer our daughters, you’re foreigners. And when we talk to
strangers, we tell them: you! From now on, you’ll say “vous” to us, you’re no longer at home, you’re in our home. And Brigitte will come to believe it. She doesn’t really feel at home anymore. At the age of 7, she discovered a way out, a passion that would change her life, dance. In 1941, her mother enrolled her in a
prestigious Parisian dance class, and her teachers soon discovered her innate talent. When she was very
young, she danced in a cute way, and she
didn’t do it mechanically. She exudes rhythm, an extraordinary sense
of physical demonstration. She has a taste for dance,
often walking on tiptoe. For the first time in her life, Brigitte is doing something to be admired. She’d go home, sometimes with her feet
all torn up, and she’d be determined to get back there the next day. Brigitte is a bad student, who doesn’t like to work
hard or make an effort, goes through dance by adopting it, adored the discipline. She knows that dance, is work, it’s pain, it’s constraint, and at the same time, it
generates tremendous fulfillment. Dance refines her body. Discipline builds character, the metamorphosis is underway. She had this edge to her head, this arch, her incredible legs,
I’ll go so far as to say, everything that made Bardot. As the years went by, she began to see herself
as beautiful and graceful, and she wasn’t the only one. At the age of 14, she was admitted to
the Paris Conservatoire. But it was here that her passion
for dance was to turn sour. At the Conservatoire, the training was tough, the teacher demanding, with a stick in his hand, he doesn’t hesitate to hit
girls who drag their feet, Brigitte is not spared. She has some difficulty doing pointe, Several times, she was almost beaten
up, because she took the easy way out and didn’t try too hard. After a year, Brigitte was no longer
motivated by dancing. She couldn’t stand her classes
and eventually left the conservatory. Brigitte Bardot had undoubtedly begun
to express a part of herself that was her indolence, her slight laziness, of letting go, of not wanting
to force her personality. At the age of 15, beautiful and assertive, Brigitte dreamed of
freedom and recklessness. Her beauty, now indisputable, would soon open new doors for her. Spring 1949, Hélène Lazareff, a friend of her mother’s, editor-in-chief of a
major fashion magazine, fell under the spell of young Brigitte. She already had an incredible
energy. She’s the fresh young thing, new girl of the post-war years, with a slightly cheeky side, very spontaneous, very sporty. Hélène Lazareff thought she
was the woman of tomorrow. This is going to be the model
for the woman of tomorrow. Let’s go ! And I’m going to sell papers, I launch her. And a few weeks later, Brigitte found herself on
the cover of the magazine. Such was her success that she
went from one cover to the next. Her parents let her do
it, but they set conditions. Brigitte must not appear
under her real name. And so, for the first time, she signed her contracts with her initials, BB. Who isn’t happy to see that
their daughter is the prettiest? But despite everything, they were a little worried. Where does all this lead? It all led to television. In 1951, she began appearing in commercials. And Merle Blanc with her
transparent Paris Verte jacket. She’s 15 years old, and
starting to get a great figure. We film her, we take an interest in
her, we scrutinize her, we look at her, we magnify her, so she’s happy. It also undoubtedly takes her out
of the family environment because, in a way, it’s already a certain transgression
in relation to her environment. But the worst family transgression
came when Brigitte met her first love. In the spring of 1950, a young screenwriter named Roger Vadim
was looking for an actress to play the heroine of his next film. And it was when he stumbled across
Brigitte’s face on the front cover of a magazine that he thought
he’d found his rare pearl. He was struck by the face, by her
freshness, by her dress, and he said to himself, this is it, I’ve found her, the Sophie of my novel. I didn’t know she existed,
but I’ve just seen her. Vadim then presented
his find to the film’s director, Marc Allégret, who immediately agreed
to give her a trial run. The meeting took place in a Paris studio. The scene takes place in a dance class, and it’s Vadim himself
who gives Brigitte the lead. I love you, but I don’t
have to beg your parents. This is the first time
you’ve told me you love me. Brigitte is quickly taken
in, and for good reason, she immediately fell
under her partner’s spell. She had an instant crush on Roger Vadim;
it was her first love at first sight. Vadim was irresistible. He had mad talent, he was very handsome, very good-looking. He was one of the most exquisite
characters you could ever meet. Listen, I don’t have time to have fun. Dad’s coming to get me. Is that why I cycled
through Paris in the rain? Marc, listen Marc, my mother never wanted to see
you. That’s just the way she is, it’s her principles, that’s all. Her principles again! I know. The scene is almost premonitory. Vadim is 22, Brigitte is only 16. But it doesn’t matter, that evening, when they take her home, they exchange their first kiss. The film will never see the light of day, but the romance between screenwriter
and apprentice actress endures, until Brigitte’s parents
discovered their relationship. She’s a minor, and Vadim
isn’t a serious boy in their eyes. Her parents didn’t want her to have a
relationship with an acrobat, a vagabond who made a rather poor living. He didn’t have a real job, he wanted to make movies. The 2 lovers were summoned
to the Bardot parents’ home. And to impress the young screenwriter, Brigitte’s father warned his
daughter, brandishing a revolver. And he tells her if he touches you, I’ll kill him! And at that moment, her mother, Brigitte’s mother, says if he’sdoesn’t kill you, I will. Finally, Louis Bardot tells his daughter
he’s sending her to boarding school, in England. For Brigitte, it’s the last sentence she needs. She’s an overly sensitive person. She lives in a dream world, she’s a
little kid with parents who adore her but perhaps don’t fully understand her. She reacts strongly to everything we say. That same evening, while the whole family went out, Brigitte was left alone in the apartment. She goes into the kitchen, turns on the gas and
puts her head in the oven. When her parents return, they find her unconscious. She is saved in extremis. In the face of this determination they finally accept her romance with Vadim. But to do so, the young man has to find a real job. He’s promised this to Brigitte’s father, so he takes a job as a journalist with
the brand-new Paris Match magazine. His fiancée meets him there regularly. The newsroom became their refuge. She would wait patiently enough on
a chair for him to finish his articles and all that. And she’d come, I don’t
know, 4-5 times a week. She even became the
darling of the journalists. In the business, she was already known as
the little fiancée of Paris Match. She had become the girlfriend of
all the historic Match photographers, who had become her confidants. She knew everyone at the paper, everyone kissed her. One day, she climbed
up on the editorial table, lifting her petticoats, and sketched 4 dance steps to the roars
of the editors and boys applauding this ravishing girl, because when Brigitte starts
dancing, it’s really something. Without even knowing it, dancing on this table, Brigitte would inspire Vadim, who had
not given up on his cinematic ambitions. But for now, the couple
have other concerns. Gaining financial independence. In 1952, Brigitte, whose beauty was just
beginning to assert itself, was offered a number of film roles. She jumped at the chance. She realized that the
pay wasn’t too bad after all. And to do what? To
pretend to be a character, She found it interesting. But she also discovered what
went on behind the scenes, the installation, the preparation,
the transformation, the waiting. Brigitte likes things to move fast, quite the opposite, in fact, of cinema. She realized that you had
to wait a long time to shoot 30 seconds, that you weren’t free to do
your hair and make-up the way you wanted. For her, it was the beginning of hell. During her first shoots, Vadim supports her. Stays by her side. The couple made it through
Brigitte’s 18th birthday, a milestone imposed by her parents so they
could finally marry and gain their freedom. After 2 years of waiting, Brigitte married Vadim
on December 21, 1952. All her friends from
Paris Match were there, the magazine was the only one to publish
a double-page spread on the wedding. She’s a little starlet
who’s made a few films, but she wasn’t a star at the time. Neither of them were very well known. It was really a home
wedding, just between us. And it was a snapshot taken in
the elevator of the family building that immortalized this union. We were walking down. Then, all of a
sudden, the elevator went down faster and we saw them. So I said, you do it again, up and down. Finally free of the family yoke, Brigitte and Vadim can
now live as they please. For Vadim, this meant making movies. And Brigitte will be his muse. He wants to make her a star. So he’s
going to write her a made-to-measure film in which she can finally express herself. The title is a forerunner. “Et Dieu Créa La Femme2. The problem is that, for the moment,
he lacks a large part of the financing. So, in an attempt to interest producers,
Vadim decided to take Bardot to the Cannes Film Festival. And to create a stir, he suggested that Bardot
change her appearance. On April 23, 1956, when Brigitte Bardot arrived in Cannes,
a few journalists were waiting for her as she got off the train. She wasn’t yet the star
everyone wanted to see, but at the end of the second day, a small detail changed everything. One evening, she went to the Carlton
hairdresser to have her hair dyed blonde. She thought she looked
very pretty as a blonde, so she stuck with it. The blonde color immediately transformed
the young ingenue into a femme fatale. She made the most of it, American producers fell for her charm, and Vadim obtained financing. At last, he could shoot his first film. Shooting began a few
days later in Saint-Tropez. Brigitte had already been there several
times on vacation with her parents. But here, she feels right at home. That’s certainly going to play a big
part in how incredibly comfortable Brigitte feels in front of the camera, in its streets, with its people. She’s in an environment
she knows. So she said, for the first time, I wasn’t looking to
play. I mean, she’d made maybe 10 films by then, but I was me. Brigitte’s strength, Vadim understood, is her naturalness. So he’s going to have her replay
situations she’s already experienced like when she was dancing on the tables. Vadim knows he’s got a gem in the rough. And he knows that this
is extremely ephemeral, that you have to catch it in one
take, in two takes, because after that, it starts to fade, get bored and, in any
case, lose her spontaneity. Brigitte has fun, lets herself go and the magic happens. She appears more seductive than ever. Above all, she exudes
something very sensual, never before seen in cinema. All of a sudden, Brigitte
arrived in her little blouse, topless, barefoot, her hair down. Brigitte Bardot was a joy of movement. She moved absolutely
magnificently and she had nerve, she had energy. She provoked with this
extremely erotic dance, extremely lassive and oh so exciting. The film was released a few months later, but to Vadim’s great displeasure, it did not attract the crowds. Its erotic nature was disturbing. There were Catholic families who paid close
attention to the films shown in the towns. And Bardot’s film, of course, was
on the Catholic Church’s blacklist. Cinema was collective entertainment.
The cinema was the family’s entertainment. Nobody went to the movies
alone, it was almost suspicious! The story of this film could have ended
there, but 10 months later, God Created Woman was released in the United States.
The reaction of the American public was not at all the same. It’s an unbelievable event, because
they’ve never seen anything like it in the U.S. The subtitle of the American film
is “Et le diable créa bardot”, just like the French. The subtitle of the American
film is: et le diable créa bardot. Like the French, Americans are shocked
by the film’s eroticism, but here it’s a real scandal. The film was banned, censored, prohibited, vilified, threatened. The film was banned in the state of
Texas on the grounds that it might boil the tempers of black viewers. Still… A scandal that finally
attracts audiences to theaters, the film broke attendance
records in the United States. “And God created woman”, it became the talk of the town. The word-of-mouth was amazing,
and of course, everyone rushed to see it. In just 3 weeks, Brigitte Bardot changed her status. She’s become an international star, she’s already being compared to the greats. She became the equal of Marilyn
Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, the great stars of the time. But more than a star, Bardot became a social phenomenon. For the first time ever, a woman dared to showcase her sensuality, and she embraced it. She became a symbol of
freedom and emancipation. All of a sudden, people, she was the icon and their idol. They
wanted to look like her. All women wanted to look like her. I wore my hair like
her, I dressed like her. Yes, because for me, she’s the
most beautiful woman in the world. Still, nobody anticipated that this would
be the starting point of a real revolution. I don’t think anyone anticipated that. Brigitte Bardot’s life has
just changed radically. She had an affair during filming
with Jean-Louis Trintignant, and she broke up with Vadim. She bought herself a house in Saint-Tropez. She came there in search of peace, but the news of her arrival in the small
fishing village soon changed all that. For the past year, boats have been flocking to Saint-Tropez
to discover the mythical location where Et Dieu créa la femme was filmed. The arrival of Brigitte in the summer
of 1958 accentuated the phenomenon, as the star was easily seen in the
streets of the town with her new lover, Sacha Distel. She walks around in a bathing suit, very comfortable, very
natural, very relaxed. She’s absolutely sumptuous
in her beauty and femininity. And Saint-Tropez, suddenly stands on one foot,
stops moving to watch her go by. When she was on the
streets of Saint-Tropez, it was a revolution. It was a revolution, a world that followed. There was her, the friends, the entourage, the paparazzi and the curious. To escape the crowd, Brigitte can easily take refuge
in her new house by the sea. At least, she can, because beyond the curious, there are also the press photographers
who are increasingly interested in her. We didn’t see them,
except that they were there, anonymous and looking
for photos at all costs. On this particular day, as Brigitte Bardot bathed
in front of her home, the paparazzi were only a few yards away. And little by little, we got closer,
we got as close as we could. Because as soon as anyone got close, she’d hide. So that’s when we arrived,
got out and took our photos. It was terrible, because she was there
to live freely, and all of a sudden she was locked up. Being stopped or
photographed in the street, Brigitte had got used to it. But to be harassed even
on her own property… She hadn’t expected it. She soon realized that her
new-found fame came at a price, but the media machine is up and running. It’s going to be very
difficult to stop her. That morning, Brigitte
Bardot embarked for London. She’s going to shoot a new film, “Babette s’en va en guerre”. At the airport, she meets her partner, actor Jacques Charrier. From the very first moment… they clicked. He’s a handsome, romantic
young man, the son of a colonel. So he had everything it took to
become Brigitte Bardot’s ideal partner. He was handsome, he was kind,
he was charming, he adored her. He courted her, and she was seduced, and then she gave in. Their romance began on the very first
day, and the couple flaunted themselves without restraint. But their lives were about
to be turned upside down. Brigitte became pregnant after 3 months. And at 25, she had no desire to do so. Her relationship with her body means
that pregnancy is not something that will satisfy her, but on the contrary
will worry and disturb her. Having a child meant losing her freedom. At first, Jacques Charrier absolutely
wanted her to keep the child, and made sure she did. Before the press found out, to avoid scandal, an emergency wedding is organized. It was the event of the summer of 1959. The town of Louveciennes is invaded
by journalists and curious onlookers. At the town hall, Louis Bardot tried to restore order, but the situation quickly degenerated. Louis, who wanted to do it the right way, was overwhelmed by the photographers, who
of course wanted to get into the town hall. And that sent him into a frenzy, resulting
in a general brawl which he provoked himself by being so out of control. The wedding was over in 7 minutes. All the guests took
refuge in the family home. But the journalists and
photographers didn’t let them go. They storm the property. The journalists and
paparazzi are like a swarm of insects trying
to get in everywhere. So, to avoid excess… The newlyweds, at their wit’s end, finally agree to pose
for the photographers. From this day on, Brigitte and Jacques become
the new idols of their generation. They are young, handsome and in love. The press followed their adventures. December 1959, Brigitte entered her
8th month of pregnancy. A difficult pregnancy that
forced her to remain bedridden, at home. At the foot of the building, dozens of photographers and
journalists are already on their toes, waiting for the happy event. And as the days go by, the pressure mounted. All the journalists
were there like piranhas, around this poor creature who was locked
in her apartment upstairs, in her dungeon, which she wasn’t allowed to leave. Photographers had rented
every window in every house, in the neighborhood, across the street,
maids’ rooms, there were photographers stashed everywhere. We did see photographers disguised as
nuns who came to the collection, we saw fake chimney sweeps, fake EDF employees pretending to read
meters on the floors to try and catch a glimpse of Brigitte and shoot her. But why all this? Because the photo was extremely expensive. A photo of Brigitte pregnant, was worth millions. So, to protect herself, Brigitte spent the last
weeks of her pregnancy cloistered in the
dark, curtains drawn. On January 11, 1960, the news broke. Brigitte Bardot had
just given birth at home. She must have given birth in her
living room, with a medical unit she had brought in. It’s unbelievable. What woman could go through that today? Not being able to give birth to your
child because you’re stuck at home. The event took place, but the press isn’t going away. Quite the opposite, in fact. The 180 special envoys from all over
the world are still downstairs. They want to see Brigitte with her baby,
or at least hope for a photo. So it’s Jacques Charrier who
comes down to talk to them. Brigitte has just given him a son. His name is Nicolas. In front of all the friends I was with, he made this famous gesture. I’ve got a son, he’s 50 centimetres tall, he’s like this. We climbed up on the tables, chairs tipped over, it
was an unbelievable mess. There was screaming, flashbulbs going
off all over the place, and Brigitte was up there with her baby. Jacques finally agreed
to let a TV crew into the room to film
Brigitte and her child. The young mother puts on a brave face. She holds her baby like a mother
in love with her newborn child. And in reality, she was very unhappy. She rejected the child. She didn’t want it. It wasn’t her husband’s fault,
and it wasn’t the poor baby’s fault. She loved her child, but she
didn’t feel ready to be a mother. The following weeks, Brigitte couldn’t get
attached to the child. So Jacques took charge. As soon as she’s back on her feet, she takes refuge on movie sets. And for the first time, she expresses
her discomfort with the media coverage of her private life. My life is like a big prison, pleasant, but it’s a bit of a prison all the same. In other words, you don’t know, Do you no longer belong to yourself? No, I belong to everyone, They make me say things I don’t say. They make me do things I don’t do. It’s a bit like not being free anymore. It’s a question of knowing whether this
existence is really what it’s cracked up to be, you’ve said, you’ve wished for, is this existence bearable? No. To escape everyday life, Brigitte Bardot went to film
Henri-Georges Clouseau’s La Vérité. She headlined the film, alongside Samy Fray. But the shoot was difficult. The director did everything
to push her over the edge. He was a genius and at the
same time a raving lunatic. He was a sadist, he was crazy. He kept putting black ideas into
her head, telling her that life was sad. Clouzot even drugged her without her
knowledge to perfect his performance. And he got what he wanted, an intense, fair Bardot, the likes of which she had
never before seen on film. And do you still believe in this love? I don’t! Yes, Gilbert loved me! But you don’t want to admit it! It’s embarrassing! It’s the truth, the only truth! I’ve been stupid, mean, full of flaws. He loved me anyway! Now I won’t see him anymore. I won’t see him anymore, you understand? So I don’t care, I’m
not afraid of anything! You’re here, disguised, ridiculous! You want to judge, but
you’ve never lived, never loved! That’s why you hate me! Because
you’re all dead! You’re all dead! Everyone was stunned by
the strength of her performance. Bardot was a scream of truth, who had taken refuge in
this role to escape her life, even ends up falling genuinely
in love with her partner. Samy Fray. You don’t get it, do you? I’m in love with you. I’m close to you, with you. I’ve been so unhappy. I’m sorry to bother you. Sorry for me, sorry for
everything, for the past. I’m so sorry. She’d say, “oh my, listen, I’ve
met him, I’m in love, I’m in love”. She’d run into my arms, I’d hold her, she’d say to me, “he’s beautiful,” “he’s gorgeous,” “I love him.” By the time of this shoot, Brigitte Bardot had forgotten everything. Media pressure, the child she didn’t want, and even her husband. But reality soon reminded her. That evening, Brigitte Bardot is in
the car with her lover, Samy Fray. He was about to drive off when a man
came up to them and shouted violently. It’s her husband, Jacques Charrier. For her, it’s total horror,
because all this guilt is coming out. A fight breaks out between the 2 men. Brigitte is terrified, but worse than that, paparazzi ambush the scene. She has just enough time to hide
her face before the flashbulbs go off. You can really see that
shame and pain are intertwined. It’s heartbreaking for her. 10 days later, the photos are published. This was too much for Jacques Charié, who
filed for divorce and custody of the child. His image as a scorned husband made
Bardot look like the worst kind of wife. There were a lot of women who were
against her and thought she was a woman of ill repute. It was delirious, in the
sense that in the street, it was “Ah, that’s Bardot, that slut!”. A free-spirited girl
like her in those days, in the years that were
just beginning to dawn, you were obviously instantly a whore. The day of this publication, Brigitte Bardot decided to flee Paris. She went into hiding
alone in the South of France. She was persecuted like no one
else, and not happy in her private life, finding happiness with a lot of people
around her, and then feeling hurt, betrayed, abandoned. So at one point, she just snapped. The next day, September 28, 1960, her 26th birthday, she was found lifeless in a sheepfold. Her veins were slashed, and an
empty barbiturate bottle lay beside her. She was taken to the emergency room, but the ordeal continues. Her act of desperation changed nothing. Even in her hospital room, she receives insulting letters. There was a letter sealed with a razor
blade, “so you wouldn’t miss next time”. I mean, it’s monstrous. She was advised to throw herself away, if she really wanted to die,
throw herself off the Eiffel Tower. It would be more efficient and there
would be one less bitch on earth. By the early ’60s, Brigitte Bardot’s
life had become a living hell. Her every move was
commented on in the press. His private life no longer belongs to
him. In her early days, she was praised for liberating the image of women. And that’s what she’s
being criticized for today. In the summer of 1963, she
shot Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris, a new masterpiece that restored Bardot’s
international star status and put the soap opera of her private life behind her. May 17, 1963, Brigitte Bardot joins the set of Le mépris. Filming takes place here, in a villa in Capri. It can only be reached by
sea or by climbing the cliffs. The location was specially chosen
to protect Bardot from prying eyes. Despite this, photographers are everywhere, They’ve invaded the town and
are storming the heights of the villa. The number of paparazzi was tripled, even quadrupled because there were many
more magazines than in France. So we’d go down, there’d
be maybe 10 or 20 of us, but there were about 50 of them. Paparazzi in Italy are obviously
crazier than anywhere else on the planet. They’ll do anything to try and shoot her. We hung on, we hung on. It was up to whoever could get the image
that would sell, because there was only one image that would
sell, there weren’t two. Even Jean-Luc Godard loses his cool. He chases the photographers up the hill, but when one escapes, another arrives on the other side. If they’re all there it’s also because Brigitte
Bardot is single again. She recently separated from Samy Fray. In December 1963, the film was released. From the very first scene, Bardot appears totally naked. Can you see my feet in the mirror? Yes. Do you think they’re pretty? Yes, very. Do you like my ankles? Yes. And my knees, do you like them too? Yes, I like your knees very much. And my thighs? Yes. Can you see my bottom in the mirror? Yes. Do you like my behind? Yes, very. She had a beautiful body and she
could show it off without embarrassment, with extreme naturalness. With the success of Contempt, she
became an absolute icon in every field, both with the public, but also with intellectuals. Brigitte Bardot took advantage of this
state of grace to take to the open seas. For 2 years, she traveled throughout South America. where she shot Louis Malle’s new film, Viva Maria. In France, however, nothing has changed. Every time she returned to Paris, the photographers are
waiting for her downstairs, They couldn’t bear to miss
the return of their favorite star. We waited, we were cold, we caught colds in front
of Avenue Paul Doubert, for weeks. Then one day, they even demonstrated at the foot of
his building to reproach him for no longer showing up. We arrived with signs, we
wanted them to come down, at least 5 minutes, and then we’d leave her in peace. It never happened because she hated us. We were nothing, we really were, I’d say vulgarly, shit, and treated as such. After her 2-year escapade
at the end of the world, Brigitte Bardot stepped
back from the media spotlight. She has just turned
30 and is off to the United States for the
premiere of Viva Maria. She had never been to the country
that had made her a star 8 years earlier. Journalist Henri Chapier
accompanied her that day. What Brigitte wanted most of all, was a completely incognito visit. But as soon as she arrived, the Americans seemed eager to meet
the heroine of Et Dieu crée la femme. She was welcomed exactly as
the Beatles had been a year earlier. It was unheard of, I mean, they glorified her. There are banners on the road to
the airport with Viva Maria, Viva Bardot. And come on, the majorettes, the flags, the music, the apotheosis. It was absolutely extraordinary. It was a head-of-state press conference. Everyone was enthralled,
because journalists who weren’t exactly
gracious, guys with beards, savages
and all, were asking her: “Are you a sex symbol ?” So she answered “What about you?” It was really great, the climate, the atmosphere. You don’t want to get married anymore? No, no, not at all. I think it’s better without marriage. Why don’t you want to get married anymore? Why not? Try it, you’ll see! That year, Brigitte Bardot was at her
peak, free, beautiful and desired by the whole world. But a new suitor, very
different from the others, is going to do everything in his power to win her over.
In July 1966, Brigitte flies to Las Vegas. At her side is her new
love, the German billionaire, Gunther Sachs. Gunther Sachs is heir
to the Von Opel family. They’re very wealthy Germans. And Gunther is the one who’s
going to flambé in Saint-Tropez. She met him just a month
ago on the Côte d’Azur. A month of extravagance and mad love. From day one, Gunther has
treated her like a princess. And she likes it that way. He was suddenly the first
man to spoil her like this. Who did things the others never did. As for Gunther Sachs, he’s not
one to wait when he wants something. He’s just proposed to Brigitte. And she accepted. That’s why they’re in Las Vegas, the only city in the world where you
can get married in a matter of moments, on a whim. This wedding is going to last 8
minutes, it’s going to cost 7 dollars. Gunther asked the judge who was going
to marry them to wait until midnight so they could get married on July 14. Brigitte Bardot looks happy in
the arms of her new husband. She feels in love. Gunther Sachs is equally delighted, but not quite for the same reasons. He brought a couple of friends to
Las Vegas, equipped with cameras, this marriage to the most
beautiful woman in the world. He wants to hold it up, like a trophy. There will even be several versions,
to better film it, frame it and so on. Which just goes to show how much Gunther
Sachs was in permanent representation. I think it was a good idea
to put her on his hunting list. I was even told that he married
her in a bet with one of his buddies. A few days later, while the couple were on
their honeymoon in Tahiti, images of the wedding have already
made the rounds of every Parisian newsroom. The express wedding
took everyone by surprise, because she got married quite
quickly, and to everyone’s surprise, even Brigitte’s parents, who were surprised to read
about it in the newspapers. The symbol of a German billionaire, marrying France’s biggest
star, a worldwide star, at the time, still carried a great deal of weight. So off to Tahiti, Brigitte was sought after by the press. Everyone wanted her to tell the story
of this unexpected marriage, and against all odds, this time she accepted. She agreed to be
photographed and interviewed. But back in Paris, she discovers her husband’s daily life, a life of luxury and pageantry, in fact, everything she hated. They spend all their time
going to social events, at which she sometimes feels
she’s nothing more than a stooge. He’ll want to introduce her to all
the bigwigs, billionaires and so on. And she’ll be wondering whether the
urban legend that says that Gunther Sachs, in fact, by marrying her, won a bet he’d made with his pals, might have something to do with reality. But Brigitte wants to give
this marriage a chance, so she gives in to her
husband’s every whim, including asking her to accompany him
to the Cannes Film Festival, when she had sworn she’d never go again. In his billionaire extravagance, Gunther Sachs has just
produced a documentary, a golden opportunity to show off on
the arm of his famous wife at the world’s most prestigious film festival. Bardot’s unexpected return
after a 10-year absence, was bound to create a stir. It was madness. All the people, journalists, everyone was overwhelmed. The photographers were
absolutely amazing and extraordinary. Now people are starting to
panic, and that’s impossible. Brigitte was almost suffocated
in the physical sense of the word. One of my photographer buddies, Jean-Claude
Serre, from Paris Match, was injured. The windows of the old Palais
du Festival de Cannes exploded. She’s going to be very angry with
Gunther for putting her through that. She’ll go off on her own to La Madrague
and never want to see anyone again. After this event, Brigitte Bardot no longer
wanted to accompany her husband in his
jet-setter lifestyle. She wanted to live alone. In Paris, in Saint-Tropez, Gunther Sachs takes it badly. It was the end of the fairy tale. Their relationship deteriorates to
the point where, during an argument, Gunther Sachs tells her that she is the
most cuckolded woman in the world, and that she has every right to get even. Brigitte Bardot feels scorned and betrayed. For once, she had invested herself
as never before in this marriage. And yet it was during
this troubled period…, that she was to experience
one of her greatest love stories. A few months after the
Cannes Film Festival, Bardot prepares a television
show for New Year’s Eve, devoted entirely to her musical career, simply called the Bardot show. She already has some
30 titles to her credit, but the producers wanted something new. To this end, they called on the most
fashionable composers of the day, among them, Serge Gainsbourg, very eager to meet Bardot. He told her he had 2 songs
to suggest, to let her hear. So he asked her if she had a piano. She replied that she did. Gainsbourg then went to
her home to play her songs. They had met a few
years earlier on a movie set, but this more intimate encounter
immediately made them uncomfortable. Things don’t go well at first. She can’t sing the song well. So, to loosen things up, he asks her if she has any champagne. And as the evening progresses, the atmosphere lifts. Brigitte agrees to sing Gainsbourg. A few days later, the 2 artists meet at a restaurant
to celebrate their collaboration. And it was Brigitte Bardot
who made the first move. They were totally smitten with each other. It’s absolutely electric. That evening, Bardot and Gainsbourg
spent the night partying, before returning to their
apartment in the early hours. For days afterwards, they would meet there as often as possible, alone in the world. Gainsbourg can’t believe it. He’s seduced the most beautiful
woman in the world, he’s seduced a star he didn’t even know he had, in all his dreams, I think, to one day
be Brigitte Bardot’s legendary lover. She discovered a poet. Really, she was thrilled by this encounter. And him, well, we don’t talk about that. When they leave their nest, Brigitte and Serge are careful not
to let anything of their romance show. Brigitte is still married to Gunther Sachs, so on the street, the
couple keep their distance. When they went out together
and were more or less hidden, she’d always say to him, “There’s a
photographer here, I can smell him.” And he’d say “no” and then yes,
indeed, there was a photographer around. Brigitte is vigilant. Rumors spread, but the photographers
didn’t get anything really compromising. In the studio during the recording, the two lovers avoid making eye contact, even if Serge Gainsbourg’s eyes
sometimes betray him during certain duets. As far as I know, nobody on the set knew about it. We never talked about this
possible private relationship, because it was just newspapers
that, from time to time, out a little information. Yesterday, Brigitte
Bardot had dinner in such-and-such a restaurant
with Serge Gainsbourg. But it wasn’t a wide-open affair. For 3 months, the couple managed to keep
their relationship a secret. But a few days before
the airing of the show, they were finally unmasked. One evening, Brigitte Bardot issued
a challenge to Serge Gainsbourg. She asked him to write her
the most beautiful love song. He spends the whole night and finally found the text and
melody that best expressed his feelings. The song is called “Je
t’aime moi non plus”. When Brigitte Bardot discovered
it in the early hours of the morning, she was speechless. She felt it was truly the most beautiful
declaration a man had ever made to her. A very poetic song, torridly erotic, but never pornographic or vulgar. A few days later, the couple went into the studio
to record the song in total secrecy. The two lovers let themselves
be totally carried away by the text, forgetting even the
presence of the technicians. The tension is real, yes, you could say erotic. It took them a while to record. And finally, let’s just
say that Brigitte Bardot helped Serge a lot
with his interpretation. She encouraged him, well, she relaxed him. A recording session that
won’t remain a secret for long. The information leaks to the press, the proof journalists had been waiting
for to confirm the rumor that had been circulating for weeks. When Gunther Sachs heard about it, he immediately went to Brigitte Bardot’s
house and ordered her not to broadcast the song. He told her no, but you’re not singing
that, it’s over, your name is Madame Sachs. Oh no, no, that won’t do, I’ll sue. Her agent Olga puts the pressure on. She tells her that this
guy could ruin her career. For the first time in her life, she
backed down in the face of public opinion and the threat to her career
posed by those around her. Brigitte Bardot finally called
Serge Gainsbourg back. Wounded but aware of the situation,
he agreed to have the song withdrawn. He even declared on the
radio that the decision was his, to protect Brigitte Bardot. I’d like to say that it wasn’t Gunther
Sachs who banned the record, it was me. For what reason? Because people in the tabloid press
got hold of the affair and I thought it had taken a wrong turn. Can we believe that this is
just a straightforward statement? This scandal marks the end
of their enchanted parenthesis. They both know it. A few days later, Brigitte had to leave for a shoot in Spain. Serge Gainsbourg came
to pay her one last visit. He hid dozens of love
notes in her suitcase. The 2 lovers even made a blood pact. She cuts her index finger, writes I love you in her own blood. He does the same and writes
“Moi non plus” in his own blood. Brigitte Bardot left for Spain and
returned to live with her husband. Serge Gainsbourg, meanwhile,
found himself alone in Paris. Brigitte Bardot didn’t know it, but
he had just bought a large apartment, rue de Verneuil, to accommodate her. He finally settled in alone. Surrounded by posters and objects, in the effigy of Bardot. It would take Serge Gainsbourg years
to recover from his break-up with Bardot. For the rest of his life, her image
haunted his rue de Verneuil apartment. As for the song J”e t’aime moi non plus”,
he eventually recorded it with Jane Birkin, his new partner. At the end of 1967, Brigitte Bardot
was at the height of her fame. She had already appeared in almost 40 films. Above all, she had become
France’s best ambassador to the world. A status as a national icon that will
arouse interest in very high places. When you go on vacation, come to
France. You, too, would feel right at home. For years now, advertisers have
understood how to use Brigitte Bardot’s image to
sell French savoir-faire. I’m Brigitte Bardot, and I love it when
people say: Brigitte, you’d swear you were still 30! But I have my secrets. And
one of them is Aqualia by L’Oréal. It was the person who most represented, the French girl, in fact. The very, very pretty Frenchwoman. She’s typically French. She sold cars, she sold
movies, she sold photos, she sold dresses. It brings in more foreign
currency for France than Renault. So it also gives her status in
the political and business worlds. And one of Brigitte
Bardot’s greatest admirers was General de Gaulle. In November 1967, he sent her an invitation
to the annual Arts and Letters evening
at the Elysée Palace. Brigitte was delighted. It was her dream to meet the General. She had always
been a Gaullist, deeply Gaullist, and had always
admired the General. He’s her idol, the
embodiment of French values, morality, uprightness. On December 5, 1967, all the big stars of the day
entered the Elysée Palace. But the one who created
the event that year, was Brigitte Bardot. She arrived on the arm of
her husband, Gunther Sachs in a totally unceremonious outfit. Brigitte had been
instructed to wear a dress, the little black dress and bun
that was protocol at the Elysée. She was dressed as a hussar in Brandenburg. It was quite astonishing to
see her arrive dressed like that. She had dared. It’s extraordinary, only she could
do that, and with such assurance, a magnificent assurance. In the reception room, a woman makes no secret of her dismay. The General’s wife, Yvonne de Gaulle,
didn’t want to invite Brigitte Bardot to the dinner. The general objected because
Brigitte Bardot had been divorced twice. She was married to Gunther Sachs
because Brigitte Bardot was something of a naked woman, according to the general. And this extravagant outfit
only reinforced her position. The general behind the glass
doors missed a concussion. She went gloups. Bardot’s audacity, on the other hand,
seemed to amuse General de Gaulle. When she arrived, the
general said chic, un militaire! Brigitte said, “Good evening, General,”
and he replied, “It’s a good thing you said that! Throughout the meal, the general was captivated by
the actress’s beauty and nerve, and that’s just as well, because he didn’t bring
her here for nothing. He’s got something in mind, but now’s not the time to tell her. A few days later, Brigitte Bardot learns that she has been
chosen by the Élysée Palace to embody the new face of the French Republic. They said, ‘Well, you’ve been chosen by
General de Gaulle to represent Marianne. She was extremely proud. For her, then, becoming the
embodiment of the Republic, with the Phrygian cap
and her breasts in the air, is Brigitte Bardot. Take a good look at her. This Marianne is not quite like the others. Do you recognize her? Yes. Yes, I do, it’s Marianne Bardot. Never before has a movie star
served as Marianne’s model. Once again, Bardot is changing
mores in spite of herself. The French generally
approve of this choice, especially the men. Brigitte as Marianne or Marianne
as Brigitte, that’s a rich idea. Yes, I’m all for it. Especially for her shape, it’s advantageous. Not the Republic, but Brigitte Bardot. Brigitte Bardot is Brigitte Bardot, Marianne, I like her the way she is. The bust of Brigitte Bardot now hangs
in 8,000 town halls across France, forever preserving her beauty
like an antique statue, a beauty that is now eternal, yet one that seems to elude her. Can you imagine life without cinema? Yes, I can imagine myself without cinema. In what way? In a serene way. I’ve learned
to do without everything. The first 64. In 1969, interviewed on the set
of L’Ours et la Poupée, Brigitte Bardot spoke for the first time
of the possibility of giving up acting. Any normal man would be troubled. The profession itself
never appealed to her. But today, it’s another
reason that makes her wonder. She was suffering from what the
myth she was represented to her. More and more on the shoots, Brigitte lingers in her dressing
room and is slow to get to the set. She no longer recognized herself, She’s afraid of disappointing people. We could wait an hour for her, 2 hours. She’d stay in make-up,
sizing herself up in the mirror. She’d tell me I don’t want to anymore, I don’t want it anymore,
I don’t want it anymore, I don’t want to have to look at myself
in projections and see myself age. In the summer of 1973, Brigitte
Bardot made an irrevocable decision. For her 48th film, “Colline aux trousses chemises”, she
was to shoot a night scene alongside Francis Huster. She was about to turn
39, and for the first time, felt very uncomfortable
walking onto the set. Brigitte Bardot played along, but that same evening, when
she returned to her dressing room, She calls her agent. She wants to make a statement on the radio. This will be her last film. Is this your farewell to cinema? Yes, I suppose it is. You know you’ll be sorely missed on the
silver screen, and so will all the French. He’s been asked to
shoot with Marlon Brando, she was offered guest star roles
in American series like Dynasty. She turned them all down. Now that you’ve said that cinema is over, what’s next? Is it going to
be traveling, resting, reading? It’s going to be life! She’s an actress who
could have gone on for years. She made a choice. To stop acting, was a liberation. For 3 years, Brigitte Bardot pondered her new life. The turning point came in early 1976. She was alone at home, when she came across a
shocking television report. Hunting, massacre or butchery, you name it, but what is certain is that 250,000
baby seals will be legally skinned alive over the next 2 months. The images are downright
unbearable. Hunters unscrupulously
torture these animals, touches her to the core. She has always been
sensitive to the animal cause, but this report makes
him want to go into battle. And for once, his fame might even come in handy. One year later, Bardot flew to Canada. She had heard that an operation was
to be launched by environmental activist Franz Weber. She wrote him a letter. Dear Franz Weber, if you want me to, I’m with you. My time, my name, my money, I’d love to be of service to this cause. Brigitte Bardot. I saw her, we talked, I said I’m going to Canada. I’m coming with you, I’m coming with you. The operation got off to a good start. The announced presence of the
star attracted the international press. And it was Frenchman Alain Bougrain-Dubourg
who got his first interview as he stepped off the plane. Do you think your cause will be heard? I hope so, my God. That’s all I want. It has to be heard.
In any case, enough is enough. The whole world
is revolted, disgusted. She was inevitably stressed, but she was determined. And she was convinced that her
trip would enable her to change things. But it wouldn’t be that simple. For one thing, the Canadian government
refuses to issue flight authorizations. The Canadian authorities don’t want
the media to bear witness to reality. So they invent something surreal. So as not to disturb the seals, we can’t go out on the
ice floes in a helicopter. Then there’s the weather, the day after his arrival, a snowstorm hit the base camp. We woke up, there was a wall of snow, it was impassable. The helicopter that was to take
Brigitte to the ice floe was grounded. Journalists were getting impatient. So she decides to hold a
press conference at short notice, but the atmosphere is tense. At this point, she returns home
with Franz Weber, and just like that, without a smile. I would have liked to make my first
trip to Canada under different conditions. I’d like silence, please. The journalists are listening, but Brigitte immediately
takes an aggressive tone. If I make the trip from France to here… It’s not to be a tourist, nor to be photographed like
at the Cannes Film Festival. Brigitte realizes that it’s her personality
that interests people much more than the countryside and the
massacre she wants to defend. She becomes what she
is in such circumstances, which is to say, a little violent
and at the same time full of emotion, on the verge of tears. All emotions come through. She ends up doing the wrong thing, attacking the hunters. The argument we’re presented with is what will become of the hunters.
Hunters is a big word for what they do. Butchers, let’s say. Butchers, hunting here is an ancestral custom. And the Canadian journalists present in
the Assembly do not intend to forgive her. She was entitled to absolutely everything. The former Starlet, the mother who abandoned her child, is she on drugs? Brigitte’s words have always come across
as harsh and sometimes undeniably clumsy. And sometimes, it’s prejudicial to the
cause she’s defending. The media operation
is turning into a fiasco, when suddenly the weather improves. Brigitte calls me, Franz, the weather’s fine, can you lend me a helicopter? Of course, Franz. And so, I wake up the pilot to bring Brigitte. Now she knows there’s only one thing to do, show a baby seal to raise public awareness. But it has to be done quickly. The weather is getting worse again. The mother is calling. And you know there’s another one down
there by the sea. Have a look. How cute! She can only stay for a few minutes. How can you kill them? Just long enough to take a
picture that will go round the world. It’s just a baby seal, and that’s what we kill. Hundreds of thousands for the crowd. These little things that let
themselves be taken like that, trusting, adorable. These wonderful little babies. That’s what we do. We kill them to make stuffed toys. Stuffed seals. Fur coats for the cunts who
want to wear them on their backs. And that’s it. We’ll have them. The operation over, Brigitte Bardot returns to Paris, exhausted. In the meantime, she discovered the comments in the press. No one took her seriously. When I met her again in Paris the morning of her return, I’m waiting for her on boulevard Lannes, with a TV crew, and she’s in tears. I haven’t slept in 36 hours, I don’t know where I stand anymore,
I was so happy to be back in France. And now I see that the French
press has shot me down in flames. She is very hurt, very bruised by this return,
which ended in failure. Brigitte, what positive
things have you achieved? A positive thing, is that I’m in good standing with myself, I could never have done more, I’ve done everything I could do,
and that’s already very positive. Another positive is that… I’ve stirred up Canadian public opinion. I’m a bit tired, excuse me. Going out there, she had hoped to stir people’s
consciences much more quickly. And she realized that it was
going to be an uphill battle. Brigitte Bardot thought she was starting
a new life with this fight for the animals. But once again, her
image did her a disservice. So she isolated herself once
again and sank into depression. The only question on the
minds of those close to her, as well as her friends
who loved her dearly, was whether Brigitte was happy. In the end, that was
the recurring question. Is she not suffering too much? Is she happy? To think about her wounds, Brigitte Bardot returns to
La Madrague in Saint-Tropez. She doesn’t want to inflict
her suffering on others, she cut herself off from the world. I think Brigitte has had her moments
of loneliness, like everyone else, but particularly so, it’s particularly difficult when
your name is Brigitte Bardot. She isolated herself, that’s it. When we phoned her, it
was no, Madame isn’t in. She chose it, with a few
people around her, very few, to stop being hurt, to stop being
betrayed, to stop being attacked, to stop being criticized. It was a very dark period, when she felt
that she was passing a turning point in her life, that she was getting
older, so she was depressed. Brigitte Bardot then went
through another dark period. She lost her parents and once
again tried to take her own life. On the eve of her 50th birthday, Brigitte Bardot had lost all her bearings.
The only thing that keeps her going is her passion for animals. So why not devote her new life to them? In 1987, she decided to
sacrifice everything for this fight. She wants to create a foundation, but to
do so she needs money, without hesitation. She organized an auction and
parted with all her possessions. of all her possessions. That day, Brigitte Bardot was anxious. The auction room is packed, she hadn’t made a public
appearance in 5 years, and she still has bitter memories
of her expedition to Canada. She’s afraid once again of
not being taken seriously. Half an hour late, I pick her up and say,
Brigitte, this is it, now, it’s time, we’ve got to go
and the sale has to work. You have to say, yes, yes, but come,
you’re with me. Yes, yes, I’m with you. At that moment. Everyone stands up and
there’s a standing ovation. An ovation, but the likes
of which you’ve never seen. She was starting to shiver
because it was so moving. All in all… She put up for sale over
a 100 personal items. Her famous bust of Marianne, her guitar, clothes, jewelry. She needs to raise over 3 million francs. So she accepted every sacrifice. Every item that came up for sale, was a part of her life that was lost to
the benefit of another part of her life, that was about to be built. It was extremely powerful and moving. It was a way of drawing a line, on her superficial life. I think she was giving of herself. Emotion and surprises, like the bracelets
Gunter Sachs gave her the day after their wild night at the casino. It was Gunter Sachs himself who bought
them that day and gave them to her a second time. I had my people on the side, I said every 10th issue, Where are we? We’re up to 1.2 million. It’s going to be a long time. And so on, and so on, so
how much is it? 1.4 million. Well, I do this, I absolutely
have to put in 3 million. The bids rise quickly. Brigitte starts to relax and joke. She wants to sell everything
right up to the auctioneer’s gavel. In just 3 hours, everything is sold. The financial target is reached. She can now set up her foundation. And this time… no one could stop her. And now she’s beaming. I was looking at this woman
who was suddenly not the same. She had changed her life. She had become the lady
who looked after the animals. I also wanted to tell you that I gave my
youth and beauty to men, and now I’m giving my wisdom and experience
and the best of myself to animals. Thank you for this! From that day on, Brigitte Bardot devoted all her
time and money to her foundation. She even mortgaged her house, La Madrague, to replenish the coffers. In 1992, she was granted charitable status. In my opinion, it was worth all
the legions of honor in the world, because in the end, it was her commitment
that was publicly recognized by the State, and she would be
able to work with donations. The most important
thing about this foundation, was the idea that her
fight would outlive her. As the years went by,
nobody doubted her legitimacy. She was sent to the Pope as an ambassador
for the animal cause around the world. She met ministers and heads of state. She succeeded in passing several decrees. She knows what she’s talking about, she does it with passion,
she doesn’t necessarily hear. She knows what she’s talking about,
she does it with passion, she doesn’t necessarily hear the objections that
may be raised, which may occasionally get her into trouble with people
who don’t agree with her, but she’s undeniably sincere. In 1995, 8 years after the
launch of his foundation, all seemed well, when a painful personal affair
plunged her into controversy. That year, by popular demand, Brigitte Bardot finished
writing her memoirs. She said to herself, for as long as publishers have wanted me
to publish my memoirs, I’m going to do it. There’s just one condition: the publisher
who’s going to take my memoirs has to accept them, whatever I want, and nothing gets cut. The cinema, the men, the betrayals, Brigitte Bardot doesn’t
want to evade anything. Above all, she wants
to set the record straight. And there’s one that’s
particularly close to her heart, the story of her son Nicolas. Brigitte has never looked after him. When she divorced his father,
Jacques Charrier, she gave up custody. Nicolas was only 2 years old. Since then, she has accepted only one photo
shoot with him for a magazine. That was in 1967. But they never had an ongoing relationship. In 1982, she explained for the first time. I wasn’t capable of raising Nicolas. I need someone to take care of me, maybe less so now, but at the
time I needed a mother, not a child. So what would I have
shown this child? A crazy life, the life I had, which meant crying all the time, going out with anyone and everyone. It was an impossible life for a child. In her memoirs,
13 years after this interview, she tries to
explain herself again, but when she talks about
her pregnancy in the book, Brigitte Bardot chooses
extremely harsh words. It was a bit like a tumor
that had fed on me, that I had carried in my swollen flesh, just waiting for the blessed moment
when I would finally be rid of it. The nightmare had reached its climax, I had to take on the object of my
misfortune for the rest of my life. Impossible, I’d rather die. At the time of the book’s
publication, Nicolas was 37 years old. He lives in Norway with
his wife and daughter, but occasionally comes to
spend vacations with his mother. Brigitte Bardot asserts that she had him
read the passages about himself before publishing them and that he therefore approved them. I can still see him arriving, saying, well,
I’ve read them, no, there’s no problem. I knew it had happened like that,
I knew Mom had had a hard time, with my mother giving
birth to me and everything. Well, the proof is that I’m here, we’re getting on really well,
there’s nothing to worry about now. But it’s Nicolas’ father, Jacques Charrier, who reacted
violently to the book’s release. Her life is tainted… of this son’s abandonment.., whom she loved at first, and then let down. Comforted by the idea
that she is still a myth, she believes she can
do anything, say anything, that she can write anything. Nicolas ends up siding with his father. The 2 men make an appointment with a
lawyer and file a complaint for defamation and invasion of privacy. So how does Brigitte Bardot react? She was completely devastated, because
she never expected a lawsuit from the father and son. March 5, 1997, Brigitte Bardot was ordered to pay
250,000 francs to Jacques Charrier and his son Nicolas. However, the book was
not withdrawn from sale. With this book and this lawsuit, Brigitte Bardot’s image
was once again tarnished. Her media appearances became increasingly
rare, and writing became her only means of public expression. The problem is that she writes whatever she
thinks, and sometimes it shocks and upsets. Between 1996 and 2000, she was condemned 3 times for racist
or homophobic remarks in the press or in her books. In 2003, she did it again with Un cri
dans le silence, a book about her vision of France, with harsh,
disturbing and violent words. Many no longer recognized
Bardot, and some wondered, is she being manipulated? Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs,
I ask you to welcome and give a fitting welcome to Mademoiselle Brigitte Bardot. Please go ahead! May 5, 2003, Brigitte Bardot is on the set of a
show that can’t please everyone, a polemical talk show. She accepted the invitation because
she knows Marc-Olivier Fogiel well. But that day, the show’s team was in a quandary. 2 days before the recording
of the show with Bardot, we discover that a book has
been announced by a publisher. We were stunned because
she’d never told us about it. And then we were stunned. We discover an absolutely hateful book. In this pamphlet against
contemporary society, Brigitte Bardot attacks
politicians, civil servants. ecologists, artists and homosexuals. She denounces the
Islamization of the country and the loss of French
values and traditions. In short, she hates the France
in which she lives, and she writes about it
in no uncertain terms. This temperamental woman who always speaks
her mind will comment on the mores of her time, denouncing
them on the fundamental theme of “C’était
mieux avant” (it was better before). Let’s do it this way, shall we? Then of course, Marc-Olivier Fogiel is going to broach
the subject at the end of the show. We’re not going to gloss
over things that upset people. We’re going to talk about and end with
this book that came out against our will. We didn’t think we’d be
doing a show on this occasion. Listen, guys. we’re doing an entertaining show, a pleasant show that’s not a literary
show, and we’re going to stop talking about that. Brigitte, who had written
this really as a rant, who had never wanted to reach her words, she hadn’t prepared herself at all to
answer the questions, and we felt she was a little unsettled. For a
moment, it was cathedral silence. For a moment, cathedral silence.
Everyone’s shaking, what’s going to happen? She turns to me and I say, “Go
away,” and she gives me a sign like “I understand, don’t worry, I’ll go away! Brigitte Bardot is uncomfortable
and threatens to leave the set. It’s just too easy, you run away, you run away, it’s cowardice. No, I’m not a cowardly girl. And there she stayed. Because Brigitte,
well, no, don’t call her a coward. It’s not just people like that who decide
to change sex one day for a laugh. Marc-Olivier Fogiel then
turns to sensitive subjects. At one point, you mention the
5 million Muslims in France… I think that’s getting to be too much. What do you mean, it’s
getting to be too much? And then suddenly, a man comes and sits in the
audience behind Brigitte Bardot. It’s Bernard Dormal, her husband. I wanted to stop him when I saw that
Brigitte was fed up and suffering. She wasn’t responding anymore. They’ve been married for 11 years, a marriage that had already
caused controversy at the time. Bernard Dormal is close
to the Le Pen family. The couple had even been photographed
at the weekend on the Front National leader’s boat. When this photo was
published in the press at the time, everyone was surprised. What’s she doing on a yacht
next to Jean-Marie Le Pen? Brigitte Bardot has always
spoken of a love marriage. But her husband’s arrival on the set
just as the sensitive issues were being discussed prompted the presenter
to ask her the burning question. We invited Brigitte
Bardot, not her husband. Do you feel
you’ve been manipulated by your husband? Oh, no, no, no. I’m not
born to be manipulated. Really not born. In the silence, she
wrote it all by herself. Contrary to what people have said, it wasn’t dictated by anyone. In other words, even her husband discovered
it one day at the same time as me. It just came to her, I let her do it. When I read it, I said, “you’re going to have problems,” “but you have to let it happen.” We wish the book hadn’t
come out at the time of this show, as was originally planned, because there was no book at all when
we contacted Brigitte Bardot. Thank you very much. Brigitte Bardot decided she would
never appear on television again. But the book affair didn’t end there. The star was once again taken to court. Several associations filed a
complaint for incitement to racial hatred. Brigitte Bardot broke down in tears
as she listened to the pleadings of the civil parties. “She doesn’t cultivate hatred,” she said, “she just has convictions.” This will be her 4th conviction. But this time, she accepts to apologize. She meets the rector of the Paris mosque. She sent a letter to the
homosexual community. Not that she regretted what she had said, she was simply afraid of the
repercussions for her foundation. Her foundation, is her life. So, no doubt, does she blame herself for having put
the foundation in a precarious situation with her remarks? Homosexuals, my
lifelong friends, I love you. Stay as you are and continue to accept
me as I am, with my worst and my best. I’m convinced that
Brigitte Bardot is not racist. I’m even convinced that
she’s not homophobic, in fact. but she is afraid of today’s world. People say she’s
misanthropic, and she is a bit, but in terms of humanity as a whole, but individually, she
helps a lot of people, she does lots of things for people. Lots and lots and lots. She doesn’t talk about it
because it’s not her fight. Brigitte Bardot once
again feels misunderstood. But it’s above all the world around
her that she no longer understands. So she isolates herself, once again. She returned to Saint-Tropez
and cut all ties with her entourage. She’s withdrawn from the world, alive and active. She no longer goes out. She’s between her Madrague and the Garigue, now surrounded by her animals. So, she has a husband, she has 2 people around her. And from time to time, a friend passing by, a passing friend. Otherwise, she doesn’t
see many people any more. She doesn’t see anyone. But she doesn’t want to be called. And I.., I respect that. It breaks my heart
because I’d like to call her. She’s made her own world. Her only concern, is her fight for the defence of animals. She devotes all her time to it. She still has dreams and projects. And her big dream for her 80th birthday
would really be to see a great victory for animals. But she also lives in
nostalgia for a bygone era. Every day, when she arrives at
the Garigue, she opens her mail. Hundreds of fan letters still
arrive from all over the world, and she takes the time to answer them. It’s a dedication, it’s book requests,
it’s still being asked to star in films, she’s asked to preface books,
she’s offered documentary subjects, etc… They come from Siberia, Japan, Peru, deep in Texas, Sumatra. It’s completely extraordinary
to think that 60 years later, this young bourgeoise
from the 16th arrondissement has become
what she has become. 40 years after the end of her film career, Brigitte Bardot remains a myth, a living myth. She spent her life trying
to break away from it, but even by cutting
herself off from the world, the imprint she left on
her era seemed indelible. In the end, that’s what
makes her so popular, is that she is what she is. So, we like her, we don’t always agree, we can hate her, it can happen, but that’s just the way she is. Don’t touch what she is. She’s always been free, and
she’s paying dearly for that freedom. Good evening Brigitte Bardot. Good evening. Where are we? We’re at La Garigue. La Garigue, what’s that? It’s my little secret
paradise in Saint-Tropez. It’s where you welcome
all those animals you love. Above all, it’s where I
escape the summer crowds, the crowds that invade La Madrague. You’re at peace here, protected. La Madrague has become a place where BB, Bardot… People come to visit, they come to watch,
these boats go by. Was it also tiring, wearing you out? La Madrague has become
the Eiffel Tower of Saint-Tropez. So, all the boats stand in front
of La Madrague all day long. So, today, you’d rather run away from it. I run away from it all year round,
because I love it in the morning and I love it in the evening. It’s a bit like an old
husband and a young lover. So, the old husband, is La Madrague, and the young lover, who I see
during the day, is La Garigue. And you don’t want him
on the screen, in the picture, or just like that, in a furtive way? No, and it’s very exceptional
that even a little in profile, I’ll let you film me. Can you explain that? When you eat too much chocolate, you get indigestion. I’ve got indigestion from the photographers
and people who have pursued me all my life, and from the
films that have been made, photos I never expected. Did this indigestion come on suddenly? It came slowly but surely. And did you leave your mark on that period? I certainly put my own stamp on it, yes, I did. You had been this beauty… Insolent for some, even? Yes, cheeky, of course. I like being sassy. I know, we loved it. You’ve taught millions of women
all over the world a lot of things. To be insolent, to be light, that a woman
should have the right to look at a man if she felt like it. That’s not bad for millions of women. They used to, they used to lower their eyes, you know. I don’t know what they did, the women. But that’s what I did,
and I did the right thing. Do you realize the impact
you’re having, what you’re doing? Of what you were causing? Did you assume the idea
of being this free woman? I had no impact to assume, I was just the way I was. I’ve always been like that. And even now, I haven’t changed. Being a sex symbol? Look, that’s over. Yes, but back then? No, but back then, I didn’t know, I don’t know. You didn’t know? No, it didn’t interest me, it
never has, I don’t care. Do you reject the idea
of having been a myth? I’m not rejecting
anything, I’m not spitting on it at all,
because the fact that I’ve been known all over the world through
the cinema allows me and allowed me at the outset to structure
this foundation more firmly, and turn it into something more
solid than if I’d never been known. Childhood, was it a happy period or one of rebellion? At some point, did you feel the need to run away? Was there a time when your father
imposed a form of rigor on you? At the time, it was
hard and difficult to bear. Yes, I felt like running away. But anyway, I did. By marrying Vadim, in fact. Vadim was the ticket out. Did you fall in love with him very quickly? Yes, but then it wasn’t right at all,
because he didn’t conform to what… What you or your father thought? Yes, he was in line with what I thought, but what my parents
thought wasn’t really that. Your father is going to put
you through hell with Vadim, in other words, the
impossibility of seeing him, pressure on himself by telling him If
you see my daughter again, it’s going to go very badly. There’s even this
sentence that’s unbelievable. Did your father have a gun? Yes, the story about the pistol is true. He says if Vadim, I see it. No, he said “If you disrespect my daughter,” “I’ll kill you”. And Mom comes up behind him and
says “If my husband won’t do it, I will.” So, since we were at fault anyway, we had a pretty rough time of it. Hence the desire to flee. Hence the desire to flee, that’s all. When you were younger, very young, didn’t you think you were
very, very, very pretty? I was very ugly. No, but it’s true that I wasn’t beautiful. My hair was as straight as a chopstick,
I had glasses and braces to straighten my teeth. I didn’t straighten anything else. And fortunately, because
that’s how I got my buck teeth. And gradually, the butterfly will appear. Then there’s the incredible
film “Et Dieu créa la femme”, in which you’re incredibly beautiful. How do you feel, with this character you’re playing? And how do you feel when
you see yourself back then? I don’t see myself very often,
because I don’t watch my films. I know I’ve made films before, which were all dreadful flops. Except for La Parisienne, which was fun. But apart from that, it wasn’t great. And when I shot “Et
Dieu créa la femme”, Vadim let me do it, let me wear the makeup I
wanted, which was no makeup. He let me wear my hair the way
I wanted it, which meant no hair. And dressed the way I wanted,
which meant not dressed. Freedom. And that’s it. And so.., I was what I wanted to be. And that triggered scandals, with criticism and applause. It was incredible. Yes, it was incredible. Men, we’ve talked about your
father, we’ve talked about Vadim. There have been several. Many what? Men, in your life. Well, fortunately. A few, though. Well, yes. Did they all count? Each in their own way? Listen, each person who’s shared my
life has given me something that I’ve kept because each one was enriching
for me and I forget what was negative. I keep what was positive. We’ll take a few. What is Gunther Sacks? It was
magical and at the same time, a fairy tale, a nightmare? Yes, Gunther, it was a wonderful madness. A sort of thing that just happened to me, very different from anything I’d ever
experienced before, which swept me up in a whirlwind and which, in the end, was absolutely not what I needed. Jean-Louis Trintignant? I loved Jean-Louis. Yes. I really liked Jean-Louis. Very endearing? Very intelligent? Deep, yes. Was he already sad back
then, already that dark? He wasn’t sad, he was lucid. Were there any fabulous
moments with Gainsbourg? There were some fabulous moments
with Gainsbourg, and he gave me a lot. In the end, it was just a parenthesis.
You’ve had breaks like that in your life. I’ve had them. These parentheses are perhaps more… symbols of happiness
because they’ve been truncated. Things didn’t go their own way. Because of what? Because of everything that surrounded it? Because, in the end, you were never given
enough freedom in the stories you were living, in who you were. You were always waxed. You had the feeling that you were being
hounded all the time. In fact, you were. You remember in that elevator, that
woman who wanted to gouge out your eyes. It’s mind-boggling. I’ve been there. I was visiting a friend in a clinic and
found myself in an elevator with an orderly carrying a lunch tray. And when she recognized me, she picked up the fork and said, “you’re
a bitch, you’re taking all our guys.” I was petrified with horror
because the elevator was closed. I was in total claustrophobia
with this woman. Oh my God, I was so scared! What does this always remind you of? To the fact that the image you project, can arouse so much anger when you
couldn’t even imagine it for a second? No, I can’t imagine anyone
behaving like that towards me. And it made me aware of
human mediocrity and injustice too. It made me realize, that human beings carry within
them defects that are appalling. And why, at some point, this life that was light and strong, and
at the same time complicated, difficult and heavy, with all that that implied, did you choose to turn the page? Why turn the page so suddenly? Why change your life? That’s what I think. You see me still making films at 80. Some people do, there are some who do. They do what they want,
but it’s a bit ridiculous. There are some who do it very well. Me, I represented freedom, youth, beauty in a certain form. I’m not going
to go on to represent the mother-in-law, mother, grandmother and even great-grandmother. That’s not possible for you. Do you remember Duras
saying that it was the end of this… dazzling matinee, that moment when
time passes and you move on to something else. Did you feel it at any point? What was the dazzling morning? Let’s just say youth and beauty. No, no, I don’t want that. I mean from the moment I’m natural, great, the way nature made me… I haven’t had a face-lift,
I don’t do anything. I never go to the hairdresser,
I don’t do beauty treatments. I don’t see it go, I know it’s
gone, my beauty, my youth. I see you, you’re magnificent. That’s kind, it makes me happy. So, can we take a picture? We can take a photo, yes. This paparazzi stalking, the photographer, your private life spied on at every turn. And at a certain point, this prompted
you to leave, to change your life too. I’d had it in me since I was born… A dazzling love for animals. And so, I wanted to make films so I could buy
a farm where animals wouldn’t be killed. And since I didn’t have a penny to
start with, I decided that the only way to get a bit of money to buy
this farm was to make films, was to make movies. Well, one thing led to another, I made films and was able to
buy something other than a farm. But now, the purpose of my life, at the end of the
day, is what I’ve done, it’s my foundation. At some point, you make a choice, to sacrifice all your
possessions for this foundation, for the animals. Yes, yes, yes. Was it obvious to you? Of course it was. What do you want
me to do with a lot of stuff that has tremendous value and that I’ll never use? No regrets? No, I have no regrets. Aren’t there any little things like that
that you miss today, that you wish you still had with you? No, I don’t miss anything because
my foundation has replaced them. Even La Madrague, you gave it away. I gave it away. And here too, I’m going to give it away, this year. What’s the point? Is it a way of drawing
a line under the life you had before? No, it’s so that it won’t be taken
over by developers when I die, and that it keeps the
soul I started to give it. So that they continue to put animals
there and to protect and recover the animals that are in distress on
the Côte d’Azur and in the area. You’ve fought many battles. There
were the baby seals, which were a major turning point. Very important. And today, you say it was all for nothing. There were decrees, there
were laws, there was progress. Compared to the energy I’ve
expended, the courage I have, and the will I have to
achieve certain things, what we’ve won, it’s not enough for what I’m asking. That’s it. Over time, your vision of the world evolved, changed? Yes, yes, yes, a lot. Very much so. You who were, let’s say, very liberal, and your father was a bit of a reactionary, haven’t you gone back to basics? What do you mean, reactionary? Reactionary? A bit
conservative, your father? Ah yes, conservative. Yes, you’ve gone back to basics a bit. I’ve never left my roots. Haven’t you? Well, no. By being what you were, this woman, who was there, light, who
loved life, who was a sex symbol? So what if I was? And then sometimes, today, some of your positions on the
evolution of society seem conservative. But do you think society is
evolving in the right direction? Well, I don’t know. I tell you, no. And that’s it, that’s all. It’s not evolving in the right direction. Look at the mess we’re in. So obviously, I’m a conservative. In what way? In the sense that I think it’s no fun at
all to evolve towards a society like ours. It’s true that you’ve
met all these politicians. De Gaulle, Giscard, did he make a pass at you,
Giscard, did he or didn’t he? But he goes on. He still does, doesn’t he?
He keeps writing to you? No, he doesn’t write, but he
phones me from time to time. I’ve kept a close friendship
with him. He’s a very nice man. Is he a good president? Listen, I don’t know about that. No, I wouldn’t know. At the time, I didn’t
care at all about that sort of thing. François Mitterrand? François Mitterrand, he made some nice gestures towards me. From a social point of view, he was the
one who gave me the Legion of Honor, which I didn’t want to accept. But it was a nice gesture. Chirac? Chirac, so he’s the king of liars. Is he? Yes. Because he promised me a lot of things. But I think he’s in a race with Sarkozy. Because the two of them
promised me a lot of things. They’ve been absolutely charming to me. And they’ve given me nothing. Nothing! Nothing at all. The current president? Well, the current president is quite
attentive to some of my requests. There’s an image of you that appeared
on a Marine Le Pen poster for the European elections campaign. What a beautiful poster! It’s magnificent! I think it’s very beautiful. Did she ask your permission? No. Do you talk to her from time to time or
not? Because you have Giscard on the phone. Do you ever have
Marine Le Pen on the phone? I sometimes have Marine, I like Marine a lot. And you’re not going to make
me say things I don’t want to say. I’m just asking you some questions. Why do you ask? Because I like Marine a
lot, I say so and that’s that. I don’t have to hide it. What does she have that the others don’t? She’s got more than the others. Let me tell you something funny, she’s the only woman, but she’s got a pair of balls. And do you like these ideas? On the whole? Yes, on the whole, I like these ideas. Why is that? Because it’s
the vision of France you like? It’s the vision of France
I’d like to see emerge, yes. See it again. You caused a scandal
when you said that. You were troubled by the
fact that the French, part of the French people, part of
the press were scandalized by it? About what? By the fact that you had made, let’s say, remarks about
a party that symbolizes, for some, the extreme right, which
symbolizes a complicated history. Don’t you think this
vision is a little narrow? Listen, at the moment, given the state it’s in, poor France, I’d be surprised if it got any narrower. It’s not easy. There’s been… Let’s talk about another scandal, the
book you wrote about the birth of your son. Are things better with him? Why would things be better? I don’t know, because with
time, things sometimes change. No, no, but it’s going well,
yes, it’s going very well. Why is that? Because it hasn’t been sometimes. No, there have been moments of
pulling, you know, in every family. Here, a little more than average. Yes, perhaps. And do you like family life as it is today? What kind of relationship
did you have with him? Well, we have a relationship,
he’s in Norway and I’m here, and we rarely see each other. What about your grandchildren? I’ve never seen them, only once. They don’t speak French, but I love them very much. And they’re beautiful too. Isn’t there a lot of
loneliness in your life? Ah yes, but I’m looking for solitude now. I don’t like people bothering
me and being close to me. I don’t know, I like being alone. Before it was a source of
anxiety, now it’s a pleasure. A source of clearing my head,
thinking and contemplating too. I like to contemplate,
I’m very contemplative. I’m very, very alone and I like it. Finally, are you happy today? I’m not happy. Happiness is so difficult. But let’s just say I’m not
unhappy and I’m serene. No regrets? No, no regrets, no remorse. About anything? About nothing. Thank you very much, Brigitte Bardot. See you soon. See you when I’m 100. We’ll do that together. So much for this interview, for the chapters of this story. A Bardot adored, criticized, but without remorse or regret. BB will remain a myth never replaced, to this day. Thank you for following us. Stay tuned to France 2 as Brigitte
Bardot returns to Vadim’s camera. Tout de suite, the film that helped
make the young actress a legend. See it or see it again, and “Dieu créa la femme”. See you in a few weeks for a new
edition of “Un jour, une histoire”. The incredible story of one of
France’s favorite women. You’ll understand why when you
discover the destiny of Simone Veil. See you soon.
De la lumière à l’ombre, Brigitte Bardot traverse les scandales, l’amour, la gloire et la solitude. Icône libre, femme traquée, elle se réinvente en militante passionnée pour les animaux.
Réalisation : Anne Le Boulc’h, François Tribolet
Film complet disponible en anglais, espagnol, italien, polonais, turc , hindi et indonésien.
Sous-titres également disponibles
8 Comments
Initials BB❤
이여자도 개께나 키운 여자이다.
열 몇마리를 키웠으니까?
그래서 인가?
한국인들 ,동남아사람들이 자신의 개서방 치구들을 잡아먹는다고
입에 거품을 물고 떠들고 다녔었다.
자신을 발탁한 감독에게 몸바쳐서 몸 바쳐서….
그감독녀석은 제인폰타도 먹었지 …
참 난 넘일세!
Magnifique Brigitte Bardot ❤❤
Elle a tout compris : Seuls les animaux nous offrent un amour inconditionnel ❤️
Bardot is right.
Une vulgaire…
C'etait et c'est vrai a tous egards, et cela demande du courage…
Comment ne pas aimer cette femme!