Jim Jarmusch, one of the great masters of the new American cinema of the 80s of the last century; musician, performer, screenwriter, producer and winner of the Golden Lion at the last Venice Film Festival, has decided to apply for a passport and French nationality for … break with the United States of Donald Trump.
“It will be a great honor for me to have a French passport,” Jarmusch said early Friday afternoon, adding: “France and its culture have profoundly influenced my life. It seems to me the embodiment of a resistance model against the authoritarian and police model of Trump, a catastrophe for the United States where I was born and where all my work was produced…”
Jim Jarmusch stands out in the United States and on the international scene for his deep love of French culture, starting with his respect and recognition of French cinema. New wave.
Trying to reason the request for French nationality and passport, Jarmusch explains the influence received from French cinema as follows: “The François Truffaut of “Quatre Cents Coups” and “La Nuit Americaine”, the Jean-Luc Godard from ‘Breathless’, the Jacques Rivette of “Paris belongs to us” and “L’Amour fou” are universal creators. “It would be a great honor for me to share my nationality and my passport with them, for deep cultural reasons.” Jarmusch continues: “Since adolescence, I was obsessed with the New Wave. Not alone. The French novel and poetry, surrealism, served as enviable models for me. My knowledge of American cinema has been enriched through reading and the heritage of the cinema of creators like Godard and Truffaut.
These are very unusual tributes. Perhaps a little interested, in this case: in the case of a frontal rejection of the United States of Trump, presented as a “universal threat”, Jarmusch endorses the latest pamphlet of Robert de Niropresenting the American president as a criminal detained and handcuffed by the police, who must take him to prison.
A cautious silence
In purely diplomatic and administrative terms, the French government initially maintained a cautious silence. Is it possible to grant nationality and a national passport to a man or woman of another nationality? Certain French personalities, such as Gérard Depardieuwere able to share the Russian passport, thanks to the interested generosity of Vladimir Putin. Jarmusch’s case is perhaps very different. But it eloquently illustrates Trump’s growing estrangement among American artists, creators and intellectuals.
The French political crisis could perhaps complicate Jarmusch’s purely cultural request. The government of Sébastien Lecornuprime minister, and Emmanuel MacronPresident of the Republic, has been trying for six months to negotiate the state budget for next year. Without success. The Ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Culture are practically “bogged down”.
Jarmusch, for his part, says “don’t be in a hurry.” It is above all a frontal rejection of Donald Trump, described as “paranoid authoritarian”. In recent days, Macron has personally dug up the diplomatic hatchet against the North American president, for having withdrawn the entry visa to the United States of Thierry Breton, former minister and former European commissioner. A context which could facilitate the granting of nationality and a French passport to the American director.
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