L'Amour fou is a 1969 French film directed by Jacques Rivette, who also co-wrote the script with Marilù Parolini. Plot L'Amour fou follows the dissolution of the marriage between Claire, an actress (played by Bulle Ogier), and Sebastien, her director (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). It is black and white with two different film gauges (35 mm and 16 mm) employed at different times throughout the film. The film focuses on a long cycle of self-destruction in Claire and Sebastien's relationship. The central event in the film's narrative is a three-week period of preparation by a theater group for a production of Racine's version of Andromaque. A crew films the preparations of the theater company in handheld 16 mm, while the rest of the film is shot in 35 mm. This framework allows Rivette to focus on the act of direction, in the formation of an artwork and the dissolution of a relationship. Significance The film is pivotal in Rivette's career as a precursor to his vast 12+ hour opus Out 1 which followed two years later. Cast Bulle Ogier - Claire Jean-Pierre Kalfon - Sébastien-Pyrrhus André S. Labarthe - Le réalisateur Josée Destoop - Marta-Hermione Dennis Berry - Dennis-Pylade Michèle Moretti - Michèle Further reading References External links French avant-garde and experimental films 1969 films 1969 drama films 1960s French-language films Films directed by Jacques Rivette Jean Racine 1960s avant-garde and experimental films French drama films 1960s French films