Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)

[mdweaver]

I read a sad article in the Evening Standard last night about the actress who plays Jane Birkin in Gainsbourg, seems she committed suicide in 2008:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle ... nd-lost.do

[Beate]

Just come back from a film-filled day and no reviews of this yet? It's actually nice going in with a member's ticket, as you don't have to queue up and get it changed for a real ticket - you go straight to the screen and they scan your ticket in somehow. The screening got amazingly full, I think only the first row had a few seats left!

There was the Greenwich Film Festival going on as well today and they had two free films on offer for which you could get tickets from 11.30am in person. So I said, "any chance getting them now as I will be in a film by that time?" "No, sorry, you can only get them from 11.30am." How stupid. I went out of the film again by 11.15am, but no one around, so got back in. Got back out at 11.25am and a huge queue had formet out of nowhere! And then they ran out of tickets just in front of me, after what was just 5 minutes of handing out tickets! I wasn't amused as now I had missed some of this film as well.

Then again, Gainsbourg was long. Actually, way too long. And we got at least 15 minutes of trailers beforehand, they started getting on my nerves. I can't remember a single one either. To be honest, I wasn't too drawn in by the film. It was like the audience was supposed to know everything about him already. Okay, so I recognised Brigitte Bardot, but no one even introduced Jane Birkin, I think her name was mentioned ONCE, and that was towards the end of the film. She was carrying around a toddler named Kate for a while and I though it was Serge's child but wikipedia told me otherwise - a little explanation would have been nice! We were also never really introduced to his two wives, who was who in a chronological order or that he was married at all, to be honest. The womanizing we knew anyway, but they decided to give him like an alter ego of himself with a huge nose who he talked to a lot - weird. We didn't really learn much about his childhood in Nazi-occupied France either, or maybe those where the 10 minutes I missed. We did however grasp that he was a talented but arrogant and very strange individual who drank and smoked too much. Oh and that his real name was Lucien Ginsburg. You know what, I have completely forgotten the ending already.

Sorry, only 5.5/10. Knight and Day was more fun than this.

[kevinknapman]

Saw this at the Gate Picturehouse in Notting Hill. Still don't understand why we have to swap print-outs for tickets. It's time consuming and doesn't help when people in front are getting coffee and renewing memberships as well. Slightly annoying.

As for the film I was pretty impressed. Beautifully shot and directed and with an outstanding performance from Eric Elmosnino as Gainsbourg. It doesn't really work as a biopic as events and characters are introduced with little explanation and then often disappear as quickly.
Director/Writer Joann Sfar is far more interested in his interpretation of Gainsbourg and it's fairly successful in this regard. Sfar uses an alter ego to show Gainsbourg's inner demons. The alter ego first appears during Gainsbourg's youth in Nazi-occupied France. Stepping out of a Nazi-propaganda poster in the form of a giant head with four arms, it initially appears to be a physical manifestation of the way the Jews were portrayed as ugly and dangerous by the Germans but soon simply represents Gainsbourg himself and his own feelings about his looks. It's an indulgent technique to use but it leads to some very striking scenes.
So overall Gainsbourg is a frustrating biopic but a fascinating character study. Any flaws the film has however are made up for by Elmosnino's extraordinary performance. It also looks great and has some wonderful music. Not a perfect film (it is a little overlong) but worth seeing.

[ejwrank]

We were glad when it was over. We thought it was pretentious, boring claptrap. Maybe we didn't know enough about Gainsbourg but it certainly didn't make us feel we had missed anything. We were really looking forward to seeing a good film but this wasn't it. We'll have to keep trying.

We also went to Notting Hill Gate and getting in was disorganised and I cannot understand the need to give out tickets but they started pretty much on time.

[jem&theholograms]

I saw this in Brixton this morning, bit of a kerfuffle, got there in time only to be told the film would be an hour late! Picturehouses screenings seem to be a bit awry at the moment. Though there were compensationary teas.

I agree with kevinknapman, great character study, not perfect but I enjoyed it. I can see it not being a universal hit but Eric Elmosnino was wonderful and this was a good interpretation of a biopic. Personally I prefer this kind, it gives a better sense of someone than too much factual info. However i'm still not sure about big chunks of his life!

I liked how they brought in his drawings and his creepy mug. Definitely interesting and emotive, you never really see what he thinks of his own self destruction though. 7/10 for me.

[prettyxcool]

Saw this at the Gate Picturehouse in Notting Hill. Still don't understand why we have to swap print-outs for tickets. It's time consuming and doesn't help when people in front are getting coffee and renewing memberships as well. Slightly annoying

Me too, I tried to walk in but was stopped by the lady at the coffee shop and told to queue with the other half a dozen people, but I said I don't want coffee, but I was made to queue anyway, as they were short staffed, to swap print out for tickets - one lady in front of me did not have a print out or ticket, so she was told she could wait until the end and if there were any tickets left she can go in, so presumably the tickets are their way of tallying how many seats left.

The film was overlong and dragged for me, but it could have been an interesting biopic, as I did not know anything about him. I recognised Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin. Unfortunately, his alter ego caricature was way too exaggerated for me and just distracted me!

6/10

[alythonian]

It was 70% full in Edinburgh yesterday.

I really wasn't sure if I was going to stay for the whole film (we had 1.30 Toy Story tickets for accross town) particularly as the review in Empire (August) didn't fill me with much hope.

Well, we did stay to the end (and we made it across town to Toy Story 3 too!!) as the film kind of draws you in.

I have to agree with Beate that I could have done with more charachter/story background infill ie how did they survive the Nazis? His parents flat was untouched etc.

The charachters he created as his "Mug" were bizarre and very French to me, but again they drew you in to his life in a weird prying perhaps too personal way.

the actor who played him was exceptional as was the child actor. I was not so keen on some of the females in his life as they were a bit lightweight by comparison.

This is a very good arthouse movie and much better than the review in Empire! I must go and check Total Fim when I get home as I do tend to go more for their reviews.

Well better get back to work.......

[mdweaver]

We were glad when it was over. We thought it was pretentious, boring claptrap.

I agree - it was extremely pretentious. The film is far, far too long but still failed to tell the audience who a lot of the people were. I too learned more about the characters from Wikepedia when I got home.

[ozufan]

The film is far, far too long but still failed to tell the audience who a lot of the people were. I too learned more about the characters from Wikepedia when I got home.

The lack of information was distracting at time. What happened to his sisters?

[kevinknapman]

According to a post on the 'Competitions' board, there will also be a Q&A after the Haymarket screening with the director.