GAINSBOURG

Ma's View:

Another movie we saw by chance not choice during one of our volunteer stints at BIFF last year and thoroughly enjoyed on all counts! 

The movie  retells the life of Serge Gainsbourg, a French rockstar during the 70's, who as a small boy (called Lucien Ginsberg) experienced the Nazi occupation of Paris.  He was both artistically and musically gifted, the latter being drummed into him by his father and the former being his own preference even though it did not bring him the success which music did in the end.  The audience is treated to the fascinating life story and exceptional music of this bad boy of the French rock scene who has a stream of lovers and is always in the news for his various misbehaviours.

Debut director Johann Sfar has drawn upon his own artistic talents in the graphic novel medium to create a wonderful comic figure alter ego of Gainsbourg who dogs his tracks and reveals his inner motivations to the audience.  Eric Elmosino in the lead role simply inhabits the character of Gainsbourg with such ease, that were it not for the cartoon alter ego you might think this was a documentary.  His many female conquests included Brigitte Bardot (Laetitia Casta) and the English singer Jane  Birkin ( Lucy Gordon) with whom he married and fathered 2 daughters.

All in all a very enjoyable and unexpected delight of a movie.

My score:  8/10

Pepe's View:

Serge Gainsbourg was indeed a strange but incredibly talented and driven artist.  The movie telling (renacting) his life story is at once fascinating and confusing. The director's use of an alter ego increases the confusion.  Gainsbourg seemingly had little respect for the conventions of French society - his parody of the French National Anthem gained him much criticism.  Although many of the establishment seemed to dislike and shun him, everyone secretly admired him and his power over women. His ability to seduce sexy, attractive women was legendary and he seemingly was never seen without a cigarette hanging from his mouth!
It was refreshing to see a well made, well acted and intelligent story of a man's life  - an artist about whom I new nothing. 
A thoroughly enjoyable movie.

My Score:  8/10