At the center of the document “From Rockstar to Assassin – the Cantat case”, on Netflix since March 27, 2025, Bertrand Cantat is a figure who has marked the French and international music scene, for his role as frontman of the noir Désir, but – unfortunately – especially for the tragic episode that has obscured his career. A poetic and musical talent capable of conquering the audience with deep texts and live and intense live performances. But his name will remain inextricably linked to an atrocious fact that has changed his destiny forever and that of those around him. Let’s deepen his story.
Bertrand Cantat and the music
Bertrand Cantat was born in 1964 in Pau, in the Atlantic fullings (France). Raised in an environment where art was deeply rooted, he embarked on his musical career assuming the role of author, interpreter and lyricist. It is above all known as the singer of Noir Désir, a group that, from the end of the 80s until the beginning of the new millennium, has been a reference point for French rock music. His writing is declaredly inspired by great poets such as Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Mallarmé, is characterized by a dense and imaginative language, between social issues and existential reflections. During his career, after the dissolution of the noir désir, the artist has undertaken various collaborations projects and founded new formations, such as Détroit and Paz, thus trying to win back the stage. Among the albums of the noir désir we remember “Veuillez renders the âme (à qui elle belongient)” (1989); “Tostaky” (1992); “666.667 Club” (1996); “Des Visages des figures” (2001). The beautiful “Le Vent Nous Portra” is probably one of the most appreciated and loved rock-pop music of the European music of our times.
Bertrand Cantat and the assassination of Marie Tintignat
The dramatic episode that marked the life of Bertrand Cantat takes place in July 2003, when in one night in Vilnius (Lithuania) her relationship with the talented actress Marie Trintignant – daughter of the great Jean -Louis Trintignant – was transformed into an unsustainable tragedy. During a violent quarrel in a hotel room, the man brutally attacked the woman, inflicting serious injuries – including the fracture of the nose, internal damage and a cerebral edema – which quickly led her to coma. Despite the critical clinical picture, the singer did not immediately seek help and let the situation precipitated without a timely intervention. In the middle of the night, Cantat called Marie’s brother, Vincent Trintignant, announcing that he has hit her. The versions on the succession of the facts diverge, but it is known that Vincent was forced to call for help only in the morning, when he realized the severity of his sister’s conditions, then bringing her to the university hospital of Vilnius. Despite the desperate attempt by Cantat – who shortly after he also tried to take his life off by lying a combination of tranquilizers and antidepressants – Marie Trintignant was transported to France, where he died following the complications of the wounds.
The investigation, conducted in close collaboration between the Lithuanian and French authorities, brought a series of medical tests to the uncovered which confirmed the compatibility between the singer’s story and the injuries found during the autopsy, and the reports clearly highlighted the impact of the violent shots suffered by the victim. The trial took place in Vilnius in March 2004 and saw Cantat sentenced to eight years of prison for a crime defined as “murder committed in the event of an indeterminate indirect intention”, a legal formulation which, although not explicitly recognizing the intention of killing, attest to the responsibility in causing death from negligence and extreme violence.
The story had an immense impact on the artist’s public perception. During the following years the case continued to be the subject of heated debates and controversies: the conviction, the subsequent control measures and the repeated discussions on the right to any social and artistic reintegration of Cantat divided public opinion. Despite his early release, obtained for good conduct and took place in 2007, the shadow of the tragedy of Vilnius continued to weigh on every public appearance and his career. Numerous comments and critical analyzes have highlighted how this dramatic episode has marked a “before and after” on Cantat’s life, but also in the perception of human rights and gender violence in the European cultural and media context.
Bertrand Cantat: the suicide of the former wife
As was not enough, the artist’s life can also be said to be marked by another tragic event. Bertrand Cantat met his future wife Kriszina Rády at the Sziget Festival in Budapest in 1993 and together they had two children, Milo and Alice. Despite the separation of 2003, the woman supported Cantat during the trial for the murder of Marie Trintignant and the couple met at the end of the singer’s penalty. But on January 10, 2010 the Rády took his life, hanging himself, in their home in Bordeaux, while Cantat slept. The autopsy confirmed suicide without evidence of physical violence by Cantat, although disputes and accusations relating to violent behavior emerged later. The investigations, however, did not manage to directly connect these episodes to the tragic gesture of Krisztina Rády.
