Saw this last week, found it pretty entertaining even though I have no more than a passing interest in Serge Gainsbourg. Was wondering whether fans of his enjoyed the film?
The "biopic" has become over the years the most problematic genre. What do you include? How can you EXPLAIN a human being's behavior in a two minute flashback? How do you interpret the personal? What I like about this film is how the filmmaker, as did Todd Haynes with his Dylan film I'm Not There (in which Gainsbourg la fille sings "Just Like a Woman), does away with the usual conventions, and goes for something else.
Not all of it works, as in Haynes' film, but enough does for the it to be insightful, even if not in the way most, or many, film-goers expect.
I want to shake every limb in the Garden of Eden and make every lover the love of my life
I am a huge fan, and I resisted watching this film for a while - I didn't want to see a parody or some cheap impression. Finally, I happened to see this movie recently and I am glad to say, it was better than I thought. The best thing about this film is that t doesn't pretend to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth - rather it's a fairytale about Gainsbourg, who has become half-human and half-legend back when he was still alive anyway. There are some strange things in this film - can't figure out why some episodes are given huge prominence (e. g. a scene with the youth orchestra) while others weren't (e. g. the story of his life with Jane or some other legendary collaborations in music). But the approach was right - leave the legend in the legend land. Bravo.