GAINSBOURG:A HEROIC LIFE(2010) Written and Directed by Joann Sfar Starring Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta,Doug Jones,Mylene Jampanoi,Anna Mouglais,Sara Forestier,Kacey Motten Klein,Unrated 130 minutes Released by Music Box Films, Focus Features and Optimun Releasing Home Video
Recently,French Cinema has released a series of bio-pic films about their most famous and admired cult celebrities especially from the 1950's and 60's A few years ago came the celebrated film biography LA VIE EN ROSE(2007) about the tumultuous life and career of France's most famed singer Edith Piaf with an Oscar winning performance by Marion Cotillard. This time, we get a a very ambitious and experimental biographical film about France's most celebrated and notorious "bon vivant", composer, singer and performer Serge Gainsbourg who from the 1950's when he started his musical career to his death in 1992, was France's "King of Cool". Writer/Director Joann Sfar who is famous for his French comic book art and graphic novels and who previously directed last year his first animated film THE RABBI'S CAT based on his own graphic novel,has directed his first live action film combined with animation and puppetry to cover the life and career of the infamous Serge Gainsbourg who was both known as a creative musical genius creating music in various musical genres and styles as well as his notorious sexual affairs with popular icons Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin,Juliette Greco and Bambou and his life as an existential iconoclastic rebel and nonconformist.
The film covers Gainsbourg's life from his impoverished childhood as a Russian Jew who escaped to France with his family to escape the Nazis during World War II to his beginning as a musician/composer in France's jazz and beat clubs in the 1950's to his great success as a composer arranger for popular French singers France Joli, Franciose Hardy,Brigitte Bardot,Jane Birkin of whom Gaisnbourg had notorious affairs with until his death at 62 in 1992. Being a graphic comic book artist.writer/director Sfar uses his innovative talents to tell Gainsbourg's lifestory using puppetry thru a symbolic puppet that foillows Gainsbourg thruout his life and career and certain animated sequences to enhance the telling of Gainsbourg's story. The film also has creative use of the many musical hits that Gainsbourg composed and was famous for such as "Je T'aime,Mon Non Plus", "Bonnie And Clyde","Harley Davidson", Comic Strip" and many other songs.Another positive contributing factor in this film is the ingenious casting of actors who not only really resemble their reallife famous counterparts but also give notable and great performances in such roles such as lead actor Eric Elmosnino as Gainsbourg who not only looks like the real Gainsbourg but captures excellently the famous man's character and essence.of which Elmosnino won the Cesar Award for Best Actor last year for his performance as Gainsbourg. Also noted is fashion supermodel Laetitia Casta spot on perfect performance as French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot and Lucy Gordon's ironically poignantly beautiful performance as British actress/singer Jane Birkin who was Gainsbourg's musical muse and lover( Sadly Ms' Gordon took her own life shortly after this film was made and the film is dedicated in her memory) The version of this film released here in America and now being seen here this week in NYC at the Film Forum theater until September 13th is short 15 minutes of the film's original running time of 130 minutes but in this abbreviated version, GAINSBOURG:A HEROIC LIFE is still a very effective and most entertaining bio-pic as well as one of the best films of this year so far.
Comments