Jean-Michel Bernard
Composer · Born November 23, 1961 (64) · France
Jean-Michel Bernard (born 23 November 1961) is a French pianist, composer, educator, orchestrator, and music producer. He is well known for regularly writing, performing, and scoring for films, such as The Science of Sleep, Hugo, Paris-Manhattan, Ca$h, and Be Kind Rewind. Bernard began playing the piano at the age of two. When he was 14, he was awarded first place at the Bordeaux Conservatory and later graduated from the École Normale de Musique de Paris. At 19, he recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, whilst pursuing a career as a jazz musician and performing with prominent jazz artists including Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Woode (Duke Ellington's bassist) and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. From 1987 to 1991 he worked as musical director and conductor of the successful radio show L’Oreille en Coin on National Public Radio France Inter. Between 2000 and 2003, he performed with the Ray Charles Quartet on the European and Australian tours as organist and conductor, "this guy is a genius" Ray used to say concerning Bernard. He also scored many documentaries and commercials during the 1990s. His career as a composer began with animated films, followed by collaborations with masters such as Lalo Schifrin and Ennio Morricone. He frequently works with director Michel Gondry and has composed songs for films including Human Nature and he scored The Science of Sleep, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. He was nominated for the World Soundtrack Awards in 2007 as Discovery of the Year and won the France Musique/UCMF award at the Cannes Film Festival the same year for this movie. In 2003, Bernard wrote the music for TF1's À prendre ou à laisser, the French version of Deal or No Deal. In 2008 he scored the music for Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, Cash by Eric Besnard, and A Pain in the Ass by Francis Veber. The same day Be Kind Rewind was shown at the Sundance Festival, Bernard performed alongside rapper/singer Mos Def and Gondry, an avid drummer. The following year, the Cannes Film Festival invited him to represent France in the film music concert program. He also received an award for his achievement outside of his native country from the European Union of Film Music Composers (UCMF) and was appointed as sound designer for both HBO's channel and website. He has collaborated with French actress and director Fanny Ardant on two of her films, Chimères Absentes and Cadences Obstinées starring Gérard Depardieu and worked on Academy Award-winning Hugo by Martin Scorsese. He scored the music of Love Punch by Joel Hopkins starring Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson, Love at First Child by Anne Giafferi and Money by Georgian director Gela Babluani. Bernard has conducted master classes at the Cannes Film Festival as well as in Montreal, Angers, La Rochelle, Kraków, Cologne and in Aubagne, where he performed a live version of Jazz For Dogs, an album co-created with Kimiko Ono and featuring a number of prestigious guests including Fanny Ardant, Francis Lai and Laurent Korcia. ... Source: Article "Jean-Michel Bernard" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 23, 1961 (64)
- France
- Composer
- 14 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
What are Jean-Michel Bernard's films like?
Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 13
Light 9 · Serious 2 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 9 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2
Gentle 6 · Charged 8 · Intense 0
Steady 11 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 5
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0
Casual 8 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jean-Michel Bernard's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Jean-Michel Bernard's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
At Work(2025)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Maya, Give Me a Title (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Lalo Schifrin, Mission: Impossible - Conducted by Victor Jacob (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Thank God We Have Each Other (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Piano Cinéma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Ballad for a Pierced Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
One Role for Two(2019)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Love at First Child(2015)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Alison (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Mind Your Own Business (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
La vie à l'envers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Des frères et des sœurs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
The Love Punch(2013)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Obsessive Rhythms (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Paris-Manhattan(2012)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
L'oncle Charles(2012)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Bienvenue à bord(2011)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Small World(2010)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
A Pain in the Ass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Passaic Mosaic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Cash(2008)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Be Kind Rewind(2008)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
My Place in the Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
The Science of Sleep(2006)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Deal or No Deal France (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The Officer's Ward(2001)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Michel Strogoff (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Madame Bovary(1991)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
Quiet Days in Clichy(1990)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 28 titles from 1990 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Highest rated
The Officer's Ward (2001)
Most popular right now
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Film career
- 2006Screen debut· The Science of Sleep
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jean-Michel Bernard's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed6
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the sound and music 60/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 67, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jean-Michel Bernard's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Jean-Michel Bernard work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jean-Michel Bernard's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Anne Giafferi shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Anne GiafferiShared titles: One Role for Two (2019), Love at First Child (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Anne Giafferi
- Michel GondryShared titles: Be Kind Rewind (2008), The Science of Sleep (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Michel Gondry
- Claude ChabrolShared titles: Madame Bovary (1991), Quiet Days in Clichy (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Claude Chabrol
Actors
- Patrick BruelShared titles: Love at First Child (2015), Paris-Manhattan (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Patrick Bruel
- Thomas SolivérèsShared titles: Love at First Child (2015), L'oncle Charles (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Thomas Solivérès
- Alice TaglioniShared titles: Paris-Manhattan (2012), Cash (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Alice Taglioni
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Christine Lucas NavarroShared titles: One Role for Two (2019), Love at First Child (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Christine Lucas Navarro
- Stéphane CamiShared titles: One Role for Two (2019), Love at First Child (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Stéphane Cami
- Jean RabierShared titles: Madame Bovary (1991), Quiet Days in Clichy (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Jean Rabier
- Matthieu ChabrolShared titles: Madame Bovary (1991), Quiet Days in Clichy (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Matthieu Chabrol
Producers
- Georges BermannShared titles: Be Kind Rewind (2008), The Science of Sleep (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Georges Bermann
