WITH ANDRÉ GIDE Clip

A film by Marc Allégret / An Icarus Films Release

Nobel-prize-winning author, social justice crusader, anti-colonialist, adventure traveler, musician, and one-time Communist: André Gide was a larger-than-life character who dominated French letters from the turn of the 20th century to his death in 1951.

Directed by Marc Allégret, with whom Gide traveled extensively in French Equatorial Africa, the recently restored WITH ANDRÉ GIDE was made in the year leading up to the writer’s death. Allégret begins by tracing Gide’s childhood and youth —the trauma of his father’s early death, the effects of his moralistic mother on his psyche, and the simultaneous development of his harsh, puritanical outlook with his growing infatuation with his cousin (and later wife), Madeleine Rondeaux.

Gide’s puritanism eventually fell away, particularly during his African voyages. Using footage from his film TRAVELS IN THE CONGO, Allégret shows Gide’s humanistic side: his appreciation for the Africans he meets, and his determination to fight against their exploitation by colonial powers.

What truly makes WITH ANDRÉ GIDE stand out though, is the intimacy of Gide’s unguarded conversations—many in his home—with friends including some of the literary greats of the day. He discusses the nature of juries, the interpretation of piano solos (with a slightly baffled young pianist), and the early days of the magazine La nouvelle revue française. And Allégret captures some delightful moments of Gide with his grandchildren.

A highly personal portrait, WITH ANDRÉ GIDE presents a little-seen side of this literary and intellectual giant—a man driven by constant curiosity, and devotion to detail. As the film’s narration says, “The faculty of attention characterized Gide in every moment of his life. An attention that was applied to all things human.”

[limitexperience]

I like this quote: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~Andre Gide

[benschaeffer]

I had to portray Andre Gide in a Theater Production in college, and I had to grow out my hair, and brush up on my French. ❤🇨🇵

The toughest aspect of researching him was that there was a TOTAL dearth of visual interviews with him; so I had to mainly listen to audio interviews and try to get the intonation of his voice and accent and base mannerisms on that, and also find my way into his character through his writing -- especially his Theatrical works like The Immoralist.

And to talk about the pursuit of the love of young boys as a pederast. Lol, it was lascivious, but fun.

[alexismarquez]

WE HAVE A GOOD LIBRARY IN ATENEO DE ZAMBOANGA UNIVERSITY :) DURING MY GRADESCHOOL DAYS, I GO TO THE LIBRARY :) THAT'S A NICE DEED.

[valentinmosu]

I found that I look exactly like the master

[alexismarquez]

ANDRE GIDE IS A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER. I KNOW ANDRE GIDE SINCE GRADESCHOOL DAYS.

[alexismarquez]

IT'S ALRIGHT IF FLORENTINO S. SUSALO III COURTED ME IN ZAMBOANGA CITY MEDICAL CENTER :) I'M NOT UNKIND.

[alexismarquez]

IT'S OBVIOUS, FLORENTINO S. SUSALO III DOESN'T KNOW ANDRE GIDE. IT'S ALRIGHT IF FLORENTINO S. SUSALO III COURTED ME IN ZAMBOANGA CITY MEDICAL CENTER.