Page "Juliette Binoche" Paragraph 9

It was to be later in 1985 that Binoche would fully emerge as a leading actress with her role in André Téchiné's Rendez-vous.

She was cast at short notice when Sandrine Bonnaire had to abandon the film due to a scheduling conflict.

Rendez-vous premiered at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, winning Best Director.

The film was a sensation and Binoche became the darling of the festival.

Rendez-Vous is the story of a provincial actress, Nina ( Binoche ), who arrives in Paris and embarks on a series of dysfunctional liaisons with several men, including the moody, suicidal Quentin ( Lambert Wilson ).

However it is her collaboration with theatre director Scrutzler, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, which comes to define Nina.

In a review of Rendez-Vous in Film Comment, Armond White described it as " Juliette Binoche's career defining performance ".

In 1986, Binoche was nominated for her first César for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film.

Following Rendez-Vous, she was unsure of what role to take next.

She auditioned unsuccessfully for Yves Boisset's Bleu comme l ' enfer and Robin Davis's Hors la loi, but was eventually cast in My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister ( 1986 ) by Jacques Rouffio opposite the popular French stars Michel Serrault and Michel Piccoli.

This film was a critical and commercial failure.

Binoche has commented that Rouffio's film is very significant to her career as it taught her to judge roles based on the quality of the screenplay and her connection with a director, not on the reputation of other cast members.

Later in 1986, she again starred opposite Michel Piccoli in Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang.

This film was a critical and commercial success, leading to Binoche's second César nomination.

Mauvais Sang is an avant-garde thriller in which she plays Anna the vastly younger lover of Marc ( Piccoli ) who falls in love with Alex ( Denis Lavant ), a young thief.

Binoche has stated that she, " discovered the camera ", while shooting this film.