Doulcet: A Film by Jean-Baptiste Doulcet, Mathieu Amalric, Bertrand Mandico, Avex Les Voix

• Jean-Baptiste Doulcet: Le Cœur de la princesse (From "L'Impératrice Yang Kwei-Fei" by Kenji Mizoguchi):
• 1 Doulcet: Le Cœur de la princesse (From "L'Impératrice Yang Kwei-Fei" by Kenji Mizoguchi) 02:29
• Schizophonia (From "Clean, Shaven" by Lodge Kerrigan):
• 2 Doulcet: Schizophonia (From "Clean, Shaven" by Lodge Kerrigan) 01:34
• Mathieu Amalric lit "An Island…":
• 3 Doulcet: Mathieu Amalric lit "An Island…" 00:33
• An Island… (From "L'Île nue" by Kaneto Shindō):
• 4 Doulcet: An Island… (From "L'Île nue" by Kaneto Shindō) 06:21
• Intérieur nuit ( From "Tiresia" by Bertrand Bonello):
• 5 Doulcet: Intérieur nuit ( From "Tiresia" by Bertrand Bonello) 01:16
• Trauma History (From "Requiem pour un massacre" by Elem Klimov):
• 6 Doulcet: Trauma History (From "Requiem pour un massacre" by Elem Klimov) 06:16
• Keaton, grimace ( From "Film" by Samuel Beckett and Alan Schneider):
• 7 Doulcet: Keaton, grimace ( From "Film" by Samuel Beckett and Alan Schneider) 02:51
• Marguerite Anamorphosis (From "Faust" by Alexandre Sokourov):
• 8 Doulcet: Marguerite Anamorphosis (From "Faust" by Alexandre Sokourov) 04:24
• Fantômes suédois (From "Fanny et Alexandre" by Ingmar Bergman):
• 9 Doulcet: Fantômes suédois (From "Fanny et Alexandre" by Ingmar Bergman) 04:14
• Roll on, Kids! (From "Wassup Rockers" by Larry Clark):
• 10 Doulcet: Roll on, Kids! (From "Wassup Rockers" by Larry Clark) 01:11
• Mathieu Amalric lit Opal Rush:
• 11 Doulcet: Mathieu Amalric lit Opal Rush 00:35
• Opal Rush (From "Uncut Gems" by Safdie Brothers):
• 12 Doulcet: Opal Rush (From "Uncut Gems" by Safdie Brothers) 01:55
• Black Sunflowers (From "Le Bonheur" by Agnès Varda):
• 13 Doulcet: Black Sunflowers (From "Le Bonheur" by Agnès Varda) 04:57
• Après la guerre (From "Quand passent les cigognes" by Mikhaïl Kalatozov):
• 14 Doulcet: Après la guerre (From "Quand passent les cigognes" by Mikhaïl Kalatozov) 05:07
• Vertige de l'apesanteur (From "Paranoid Park" by Gus Van Sant):
• 15 Doulcet: Vertige de l'apesanteur (From "Paranoid Park" by Gus Van Sant) 02:25
• Steel (From "Blue Steel" by Kathryn Bigelow):
• 16 Doulcet: Steel (From "Blue Steel" by Kathryn Bigelow) 04:55
• Bertrand Mandico (b. 1977): Bertrand Mandico lit Mon Inland Empire:
• 17 Mandico: Bertrand Mandico lit Mon Inland Empire 02:17
• Jean-Baptiste Doulcet: Dédales (From "Inland Empire" by David Lynch):
• 18 Doulcet: Dédales (From "Inland Empire" by David Lynch) 02:26
• Un rêve étrange… (By "L'Étrange Affaire Angélica" by Manoel de Oliveira):
• 19 Doulcet: Un rêve étrange… (By "L'Étrange Affaire Angélica" by Manoel de Oliveira) 03:52
• American Women (From "Certain Women" by Kelly Reichardt):
• 20 Doulcet: American Women (From "Certain Women" by Kelly Reichardt) 02:58
• Iconoclastes (From "Aguirre, la colère de Dieu" by Werner Herzog):
• 21 Doulcet: Iconoclastes (From "Aguirre, la colère de Dieu" by Werner Herzog) 03:57
• Cannibal Fashion (From "The Neon Demon" by Nicolas Winding Refn):
• 22 Doulcet: Cannibal Fashion (From "The Neon Demon" by Nicolas Winding Refn) 04:39
• Total Runtime 01:11:12

Info for Doulcet: A Film by

As a pianist behind the camera or a film enthusiast at the piano, Jean-Baptiste Doulcet invites the listener on a journey through the history of cinema through improvisation—an art form upon which he built his entire musical training. From Bergman and Varda to Mizoguchi, Lynch, and Buster Keaton, the music becomes a review, an evocation, a second film as a homage, encompassing diverse styles, forms, and atmospheres. Constructed as a film library to be visited, the pianist speaks loudly and clearly of the vitality and enduring power of cinema, inviting two contemporary filmmakers to share this unconditional love for the seventh art with their voices.

As a result of a long reflection about my cinephilia and my connection with the practice of improvisation, A Film By has been conceived as a declaration of love for the movie-makers and films, just a few among so many others, that have moved, surprised, shaken me to the core and have never totally left me.

All these motion pictures, whatever their period, language, or production circumstances, share one defining trait: they offer a unique, personal vision of the world — a poetics of the gaze, and a self-evident mastery of form. My music is a way of paying a tribute to these movies while trying not to reproduce them, but sometimes outflanking them or taking them in what they can conjure up within me as a musician… This cinephilia also had to incarnate in movie-makers for us to have the voices of those who make the films.

That is why I am very proud that Mathieu Amalric and Bertrand Mandico, two great French actors/filmmakers joined the game by reading both their own texts and mine. The recording was made in three days, and each track is devoid of editing. The rule of the game applied completely : improvisation implies that if there are defects, too bad !, they will remain untouched like in a sequence-shot or under a single-take direction. Over the three hours and a half of music creation, on leaving the recording studio, I had to choose among the rushes like a movie-maker, find what the final form of the disc would be, its identity, its own pictures… and dispense with the editing part. I dedicate this album to all the filmmakers, men and women, who do not cease watching and reinventing the world in all its dimensions, and provide us with an alternative gaze. I do hope listening to it will create a desire to regain the unique and irreplaceable pleasure of the film-projection and movie-theatre.

Jean-Baptiste Doulcet, piano
Mathieu Amalric, vocals
Bertrand Mandico,vocals

Jean-Baptiste Doulcet
Born in 1992, French pianist Jean-Baptiste Doulcet is a versatile artist known for his work as a performer, improviser, and composer.

In 2024, he was invited by Klaus Mäkelä to perform Stravinsky’s Petrouchka with Orchestre de Paris, BBC Proms, and the Granada Festival. He appears regularly at major festivals such as La Folle Journée (Nantes and Tokyo), La Roque d’Anthéron, and Piano aux Jacobins, and performs internationally across Europe, North America, and beyond.

Prizewinner at the Marguerite Long and Clara Haskil competitions, he has released acclaimed albums including Un Monde Fantastique and Søleils Blancs. His upcoming 2026 release will explore improvisation and cinema, reflecting his decade-long career as a professional film critic.

A passionate chamber musician, he collaborates with leading soloists and ensembles. Doulcet studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in Sweden, and in 2025 joins the faculty of École Normale de Musique de Paris. He also co-founded the French Connection Academy in Denmark.

Booklet for Doulcet: A Film by