Film star Alain Delon has died
Alain Delon is dead. The French actor died at the age of 88 on his estate in Douchy-Montcorbon, south of Paris, where he had lived in seclusion in recent years. Europe's media focus on his legendary film work as an actor and producer - as well as his attitude to political and moral issues.
An ice-cold angel
Delon was not only a magnificent actor but also a controversial figure, Deutsche Welle's Romanian service writes:
“Delon confirmed his reputation as an unapproachable loner with dubious associates in later life in his openly displayed friendship with the right-wing populist Jean-Marie Le Pen. For Alain Delon, being close to the Front National was not dishonourable. He stood by it. And ultimately, it did not harm his career. ... His fans will mostly remember him for his roles in the 1960s. From that time on, he seemed to descend from the pinnacle of cinema: as beautiful as an angel, but with his pistol at the ready - an ice-cold angel.”
From heartthrob to macho
Historian Laure Murat recalls in Libération the two sides of Delon:
“The idol, the womaniser, the partner in life and on the screen of Romy Schneider and Mireille Darc outshone everything - until his career became bogged down by roles as tough guys and misogynistic machos. In private, his homophobic and racist comments completed the transformation of the initially enigmatic icon into an actor parodying himself. ... The history of cinema will long speak of Delon's genius, which was never as brilliant as in the first two decades of his career, when he showed his sunny smile and his sombre gaze, his almost childlike energy and sudden melancholy.”
Delon was not like Depardieu
Alongside Gérard Depardieu, Alain Delon was one of the most popular actors in the Soviet Union and later in Russia, and he supported Ukraine. Obozrevatel thanks him:
“Was Alain Delon an attractive target for Russian propaganda to win him over to Putin's side? Absolutely. Did he receive offers like the one that Gérard Depardieu chose not to turn down at the time? Of course. But Delon was not Depardieu. He didn't sell out. He didn't become a worse person. He didn't choose roubles over his dignity. He remained humane. He supported Ukraine in its resistance. He lived an honest and dignified life. Rest in peace, maestro!”
Definitively not a fascist
Protagon comes to Delon's defence:
“He was, among other things, macho, homophobic, right-wing and the producer of films that exposed the French state over its collaboration with the Nazis and its murderous campaigns in Algeria and against Algerians. ... The sum of this does not make him a perfect man by any means. But it is also far from making him a fascist. Ultimately, Delon was an actor. His legacy of work - often self-financed - was rich and deeply anti-fascist. Just remember the film Monsieur Klein, which strongly criticises society's tolerance of fascism in particular - that suffices as his contribution to anti-fascist thinking.”