Jean Vautrin


Jean Vautrin, real name Jean Herman, was a French writer, filmmaker and film critic.

Life and career

After studying literature at Auxerre, he took first place in the Id'HEC competition. He studied French literature at the University of Bombay; he became assistant director to Roberto Rossellini. Back in France, he produced five feature films.
He became famous among the general public in 1989, winning the Prix Goncourt for his novel Un grand pas vers le bon Dieu.
His novel Le Cri du Peuple was adapted as a graphic novel by Jacques Tardi.

Filmography

Assistant director

  • India, Terre Mère
  • Paris nous appartient
  • Les Quatre Cavaliers de l'Apocalypse
  • ''Le Jour le plus long''

Director

Screenwriter

Actor

Novels

  • À bulletins rouges, 1973
  • Billy-Ze-Kick, 1974 - Novel adapted by Gérard Mordillat 1985
  • Mister Love, 1977
  • Typhon gazoline, 1977
  • Le Mensonge - Chronique des années de crise, 1978
  • Bloody-Mary, 1979
  • Groom, 1981
  • Canicule, 1982 - Novel adapted by Yves Boisset 1984
  • La Vie Ripolin, 1987
  • Un grand pas vers le bon Dieu, 1989 Prix Goncourt
  • Symphonie Grabuge, 1994 Prix du roman populiste
  • Le Roi des ordures, 1997
  • Un monsieur bien mis, 1987
  • Le Cri du peuple, 1998 Prix Louis-Guilloux in 1999. Adapted as a graphic novel in four books by Jacques Tardi in 2005.
  • L’homme qui assassinait sa vie, 2001
  • Le Journal de Louise B., 2002

Four French Soldiers

  • Adieu la vie, adieu l’amour, 2004
  • La Femme au gant rouge, 2004
  • La grande zigouille, 2009
  • Les années Faribole, 2012

Novellas

  • 1983 : Patchwork, Prix des Deux Magots 1984
  • 1986 : Baby-boom, Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle 1986
  • 1989 : Dix-huit tentatives pour devenir un saint
  • 1992 : Courage chacun
  • 2005 : Si on s’aimait ?
  • 2009 : Maîtresse Kristal et autres bris de guerre

Collaboration

Les Aventures de Boro, reporter photographe, with Dan Franck
  • La Dame de Berlin, 1987 - Novel adapted by Pierre Boutron 1991
  • Le Temps des cerises, 1990
  • Les Noces de Guernica, 1994
  • Mademoiselle Chat, 1996
  • Boro s’en va-t-en guerre, 2000
  • Cher Boro, 2005
  • La Fête à Boro, 2007
  • La Dame de Jérusalem, 2009