# Patrice Leconte

Patrice Leconte (French:; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.

## Life and career

Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. While attending film school in the late 1960s, Leconte also worked as a cartoonist, in particular for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote. He directed his first feature film in 1976, and had a number of major successes with comedy films that were barely distributed outside France. He first came to international attention in 1989 with Monsieur Hire, which was shown at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and which was a radical departure from his previous work. Although he had already directed more than half a dozen features, many foreign critics, unfamiliar with his previous work, essentially treated him as a newcomer. Since then, he has alternated between films such as Ridicule and L'homme du train which have had success in the international arthouse market, and others, like Les Grands Ducs, whose appeal has been limited to France.
In the 2000s, Patrice Leconte received more recognition in the United States with the successful United States releases of Girl on the Bridge, The Widow of Saint-Pierre, Man on the Train and Intimate Strangers (Paramount Classics released three of these films in the United States). Ryan Mottesheard of IndieWIRE wrote: "you could even argue that no other foreign filmmaker (INCLUDING Pedro Almodóvar) has had as strong of an impact on United States arthouses."
An English language remake of Leconte's film Man on the Train was remade by an independent Hollywood studio in 2011, and two others are in 'development': Intimate Strangers and My Best Friend.
Patrice Leconte's film, The Suicide Shop, was screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, California, on 28 April and 2 May 2013.

## Filmography

Short film
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1969 | L'Espace vital | |
| 1971 | Le Laboratoire de l'angoisse | |
| 1973 | La Famille heureuse (Famille Gazul) | |
| 1991 | Pour Alexandre Goldovitch, URSS | Segment of Contre l'oubli |
| 1992 | Le batteur du Boléro | |
| 2007 | Trac | |
| 2007 | Dix films pour en parler | |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
| 1976 | Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur | Yes | Yes |
| 1978 | French Fried Vacation | Yes | Yes |
| 1979 | French Fried Vacation 2 | Yes | No |
| 1981 | Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine | Yes | No |
| 1982 | Ma femme s'appelle reviens | Yes | No |
| 1983 | Circulez y a rien à voir ! | Yes | Yes |
| 1985 | Les Spécialistes | Yes | Yes |
| 1987 | Tandem | Yes | Yes |
| 1989 | Monsieur Hire | Yes | Yes |
| 1990 | The Hairdresser's Husband | Yes | Yes |
| 1993 | Tango | Yes | Yes |
| 1994 | Le Parfum d'Yvonne | Yes | Yes |
| 1996 | Les Grands Ducs | Yes | Yes |
| 1996 | Ridicule | Yes | No |
| 1998 | Une chance sur deux | Yes | Yes |
| 1999 | Girl on the Bridge | Yes | No |
| 2000 | The Widow of Saint-Pierre | Yes | Yes |
| 2001 | Félix et Lola | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Rue des Plaisirs | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | The Man on the Train | Yes | No |
| 2004 | Intimate Strangers | Yes | Yes |
| 2006 | French Fried Vacation 3 | Yes | No |
| 2006 | My Best Friend | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | Beauties at War | Yes | No |
| 2011 | Voir la mer | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | The Suicide Shop | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | A Promise | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | Do Not Disturb | Yes | No |
| 2022 | Maigret | Yes | Yes |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1993 | The King of Ads | Segment "Pilote commercial" |
| 1995 | Lumière and Company | Segment "La Ciotat 1996" |
| 2004 | Dogora: Ouvrons les yeux | |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1988 | Sueurs froides | 1 Episode |

## Box-office

| Year | Title | Performance |
| 1976 | Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur | $3,483,367 |
| 1978 | French Fried Vacation | $17,314,830 |
| 1979 | French Fried Vacation 2 | $11,518,357 |
| 1981 | Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine | $21,151,267 |
| 1982 | Ma femme s'appelle reviens | $8,916,300 |
| 1983 | Circulez y a rien à voir ! | $8,133,292 |
| 1985 | Les Spécialistes | $39,896,565 |
| 1987 | Tandem | $4,483,185 |
| 1989 | Monsieur Hire | $5,980,540 |
| 1990 | The Hairdresser's Husband | $2,687,602 |
| 1993 | Tango | $4,798,440 |
| 1994 | Le Parfum d'Yvonne | $1,191,270 |
| 1996 | Les Grands Ducs | $3,755,175 |
| 1996 | Ridicule | $35,519,611 |
| 1998 | Une chance sur deux | $7,926,075 |
| 1999 | Girl on the Bridge | $11,171,846 |
| 2000 | The Widow of Saint-Pierre | $12,990,288 |
| 2001 | Félix et Lola | $480,382 |
| 2002 | Rue des Plaisirs | $1,873,072 |
| 2002 | The Man on the Train | $7,582,447 |
| 2004 | Intimate Strangers | $7,460,079 |
| 2006 | French Fried Vacation 3 | $83,897,719 |
| 2006 | My Best Friend | $13,186,926 |
| 2008 | Beauties at War | $3,016,611 |
| 2011 | Voir la mer | $248,092 |
| 2012 | The Suicide Shop | $2,229,885 |
| 2013 | A Promise | $385,486 |
| 2014 | Do Not Disturb | $7,551,502 |
| 2022 | Maigret | $4,420,841 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1981 | Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine | Nominated – Chicago International Film Festival – Best Feature |
| 1987 | Tandem | Nominated – César Award for Best Film Nominated – César Award for Best Director Nominated – César Award for Best Writing |
| 1989 | Monsieur Hire | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film French Syndicate of Cinema Critics – Prix Méliès – Best French Film Guldbagge Award – Best Foreign Film National Board of Review Award for Top Foreign Films Nominated – Cannes Film Festival – Palme d'Or Nominated – César Award for Best Film Nominated – César Award for Best Director |
| 1992 | Le batteur du Boléro | Kraków Film Festival – Don Quixote Award |
| 1990 | The Hairdresser's Husband | Louis Delluc Prize Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language Nominated – César Award for Best Film Nominated – César Award for Best Director Nominated – César Award for Best Writing |
| 1996 | Ridicule | BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film Chicago International Film Festival – Best Film César Award for Best Film César Award for Best Director David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film London Film Critics' Circle Award for Foreign Language Film of the Year Lumières Award for Best Film National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film Society of Texas Film Critics Award – Best Foreign Film Awards Circuit Community Awards – Best Foreign Language Film Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards – Best Foreign Film Online Film & Television Association – Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Cannes Film Festival – Palme d'Or Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1999 | Girl on the Bridge | Cinemania Film Festival – Audience Award Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Don Quijote Award – Special Mention Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards – Best Foreign Film Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – César Award for Best Director Nominated – César Award for Best Film Nominated – Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Crystal Globe Nominated – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film National Board of Review Award for Top Foreign Films Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards – Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Robert Festival – Best Non-American Film |
| 2000 | The Widow of Saint-Pierre | Moscow International Film Festival – Russian Film Critics Award Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – American Film Institute – Grand Jury Prize Nominated – Film Critics Circle of Australia – Best Foreign-Language Film Nominated – Moscow International Film Festival – Golden St. George |
| 2001 | Félix et Lola | Nominated – Berlin International Film Festival – Golden Bear Nominated – Verona Love Screens Film Festival – Best Film |
| 2002 | The Man on the Train | Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film National Board of Review Award for Top Foreign Films Venice Film Festival – Audience Award – Best Film Seattle Film Critics Awards – Best Foreign-Language Film Nominated – David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film Nominated – European Film Academy People's Choice Award for Best European Film Nominated – Venice Film Festival – Golden Lion Nominated – Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Best Foreign-Language Film Nominated – Online Film & Television Association – Best Foreign Language Film Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards – Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2004 | Intimate Strangers | Nominated – Berlin International Film Festival – Golden Bear Nominated – European Film Academy People's Choice Award for Best European Film Nominated – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – Grand Prize |
| 2006 | My Best Friend | Nominated – David di Donatello for Best European Film |
| 2011 | Voir la mer | Nominated – Taormina International Film Festival – Golden Tauro |
| 2012 | The Suicide Shop | Nominated – European Film Academy Young Audience Award |
| 2013 | A Promise | Nominated – Magritte Award for Best Foreign Film in Coproduction |