Gainsbourg Review

• 11th Jan 2011

In France, Serge Gainsbourg is an icon. He is also many other things. To some he is a hero, to others he is a controversial figure, a Lothario, a genius, a poet, as well as an alcoholic and a flawed artist who explored many different musical styles from samba to French pop, as well as also making some lame attempts at rock, techno and reggae. He was a hard smoking, hard drinking character, a very French rebel without a cause. To a non-French audience Gainsbourg is best known for his pseudo-porn pop classic ‘Je t’aime… moi non plus’ which he originally wrote for Brigitte Bardot, but sang with Jane Birkin which became a number one all over Europe (despite being banned by the BBC) as well as his infamous interview on French television in 1986 in which he told Whitney Houston he wanted “to fuck her” (although this episode is not included in the film).

Director, Joann Sfar, in his directorial debut comes from a comic book background and presents his film as a fantasy biopic in which he portrays episodic scenes from Gainsbourg’s life. From his childhood as the son of Ukranian Jewish refugees in Paris and the escapist fantasy world in inhabited as a child while living in Nazi occupied Paris, to his early jobbing years as a pianist in a jazz bar through to his many amours with other French icons including his legendary romance with Brigitte Bardot through to his great love, Jane Birkin and his final struggle with alcohol and controversy before his death in 1991 at the age of sixty-three.

For many years France has been crying out for a biopic of Gainsbourg.  Sfar, believed his idea of Gainsbourg being followed around by a Jewish caricature alter-ego would never be accepted and was pleasantly surprised at being approached by the Gainsbourg family and estate to make the film. It both follows and doesn’t follow the conventions of biopic in that it includes the well known episodes in Gainsbourg’s life, but also includes many moments of fantasy. It tries to dig deep into the psyche of the protagonist, but has little about how and why Gainsbourg became famous and merely shows us the trappings of fame. As already mentioned, we are treated to many encounters with iconic figures in French culture, including an encounter with a famous chanteuse, Mistinguette, (also the subject of a recent French biopic in La Vie en Rose), as well as excellent likenesses of Birkin (played by Lucy Gordon, who tragically died before the film was released) and, perhaps more difficult than even finding an actor resembling Gainsbourg, someone who can pull off Bardot without seeming ridiculous. Sfar was successful in casting Laetitia Casta who exudes the kittenish sexuality of Bardot as well as the look. No mean feat considering what an iconic figure Bardot is, not just in France, but throughout the world. For Gainsbourg, Sfar cast Eric Elmosnino who bears a striking resemblance, if a little too skinny, but certainly the resemblance becomes stronger in the latter stages of the film.

The first part of the film comes as something of a surprise as it opens with a beautiful animated title sequence, exploring his childhood and his parent’s background, something less well known, even to a French audience. His childhood is presented as fantasy in which he is followed around by two monstrous papier-mâché caricatures of Jews: one a large balloon figure as depicted in anti-Semitic Nazi imagery and another which represents his alter ego and his image of himself as ‘an ugly mug’ which follows him around throughout his life. It also follows his artistic pretensions, something even lesser well known about Gainsbourg, his attempts at becoming an artist as a boy and how he seduced his models.

Sfar was clear to use the sub-title of Gainsbourg’s ‘heroic life’ with a great deal of irony. This was apparently at the behest of Jane Birkin, who did not want a realistic treatment of Gainsbourg’s life, but the Gainsbourg of the public imagination, allowing Sfar the opportunity to explore the possibilities that cinema is able to present to him. Many myths are also included such as his lavish lifestyle with Birkin, Bardot ordering croissants after a night of love making and his oft told story of how he willingly wore the Star of David that he insolently told belonged to the Nazis and not himself. Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story seems to be the maxim here. Much of the musical aspects are depicted as if this were a musical such as Gainsbourg singing the beautiful ‘La Javanaise’ to Juliette Gréco or Bardot dancing on a piano draped in nothing more than a bed sheet while singing ‘Comic Strip’ with Gainsbourg. French cinema is no stranger to playing with the musical genre and Sfar does this with some panache.

The film avoids many of Gainsbourg’s controversies, his serial philandering being paramount, as well as the many other sleazy aspects of Gainsbourg’s life, the sometimes dreadful performances and TV stunts, as well as the controversies surrounding his relationship with his daughter, Charlotte and those surrounding his last big relationship with Bambou. It may not introduce a new audience to the music of Serge Gainsbourg, but will reignite an interest in those already familiar with him.

Chris Hick