Joann Sfar’s Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque may not reveal much in the way of unexplored biographical fact about the late great chanson singer’s life. After all, Gainsbourg’s romantic exploits and creative collaborations are well-documented, revealing the life of a poet-singer who was constantly reinventing himself through his music and muses. In three decades, he produced records reaching across reggae and rock, and to this day, 1971’s Histoire de Melody Nelson may be the best rock album to come out of La France (sorry, Phoenix). The album’s Lolita-esque narrative and orchestral funk ran only 28 minutes, but its conceptual daring more than makes up for its brevity. Think Sebastien Tellier’s lasciviousness and Beck’s chameleon musicality, except Gainsbourg was doing it all since the sixties.

The film is an adaptation of Sfar’s graphic novel about the singer’s life, and it looks like it will feature plenty of chain-smoking and rock star decadence. I would’ve liked to see a more unconventional biopic like I’m Not There (2007), but first-time filmmaker Sfar is famous for his visual storytelling as a comic artist, and the trailer looks somewhat promising. Tragically, actress and model Lucy Gordon, who played one-time Gainsbourg partner Jane Birkin, committed suicide this past May. This may (somewhat regrettably) create new hype around the film, although it’s hard to say whether the film will top Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en rose, the 2007 biopic about the other French legend, Édith Piaf.

Light in the Attic Records recently reissued Melody Nelson on CD and LP with a 40-pg. booklet of original art and extensive notes. Producer Jean Claude Vannier’s imaginative soundscapes coupled with Gainsbourg’s spoken-word delivery mark a moment when the French seemed like they could compete with Anglo and American rock scenes. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The record stands strong and unique on its own, regardless of genre and period.

France will see a release of Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque in January 2010, but details of a U.S. release are as of yet unannounced.

Photo by Jérôme Brezillon

***
http://www.gainsbourg-lefilm.com/

via Abe Ahn, 19 November 2009 9:01am | |