Sfar spins an intriguing homage

Renowned comic book artist Joann Sfar creates a glorified tribute to the late, infamous singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg with his new film, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.

The film carries itself as a combination of glamorized memoir and Sfar’s own imaginative artistry. Though the movie quickly skims over the details of Gainsbourg’s personal life, it stands as a fantastic salute to the music, fame and inner demons of the notorious musician.

The film follows young Serge Gainsbourg (Eric Elmosnino) — born Lucien Ginsburg — from his childhood as a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Paris to his fame later in life, deftly taking audiences through his compelling adventures in music and lovemaking. Forced as a young boy to wear a yellow star in the anti-Semitic era, the singer-songwriter sees a Nazi poster of an exaggerated Jewish caricature, complete with large ears and a foot-long “mug.” He hallucinates the caricature coming to life, and throughout his life it follows him as his alter-ego, embodying his self-consciousness, guilty pleasures and lustful attributes.

Sfar perfectly portrays Gainsbourg as a talented musician of mental instability. Through Gainsbourg’s arguments with the life-sized puppet, audiences are able to understand his deep internal struggles through an unconventional metaphor. The analogy is a powerful portrait of the musician’s suppression of his unhappiness and inhibitions. Though society in the ’60s saw him as a carefree celebrity, Sfar plunged into his deep insatiability with fame and perfection.

Sfar incorporates his subject’s music in a polished manner, avoiding spontaneous choreography and random singing typically seen in musicals. Instead, he eloquently introduces some of Gainsbourg’s most infamous songs through the musician’s writing process.

Whether Gainsbourg is pitching a song to a beautiful client or performing his latest hit to a crowded audience, Sfar incorporates the musician’s songs in an unexpectedly sophisticated manner. Sfar even renders his protagonist a musical chameleon, in which he integrates Gainsbourg’s ventures with reggae music toward the end of his career. Audiences are presented the spectrum of his music without corny or impulsive dance numbers.

With effortless piano skills and a smooth bass voice, Eric Elmosnino gives an ideal reprise to the artist’s life. He won best actor in the 2011 Cesar Awards and the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival for his ability to balance Gainsbourg’s sex appeal and song writing talent with his concealed insecurities about Gainsbourg’s appearance and self-worth.

Elmosnino impeccably elaborates on Gainsbourg’s infamy as a Casanova character, romancing such celebrities of the time as Juliette Greco, Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot.

Sfar’s lack of detail in Gainsbourg’s personal life, however, is undeniably frustrating. Hazy accounts of his marriages and the lack of children depicted in the movie make for a nebulous understanding of his personal life. It is unclear which women became his wives, and which children were biologically his own.

Sfar also leaves out the memorable and often controversial details of Gainsbourg’s life. He excludes Gainsbourg’s scandals, as well as some of his infamous television interviews. The director claimed, “I love Gainsbourg too much to bring him back to the realm of reality.”

Consequently, it is easy to appreciate Sfar’s admiration for Gainsbourg, especially because he deems his life “heroic” and glamorizes Gainsbourg’s adultery in the film.

The glamor present in Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life strays far from monotonous biography of mere chronology. With cartoon interludes, ’60s flair, fantastical editing and a soundtrack consisting mostly of Gainsbourg’s own work, it is indeed entertaining. If you do not mind the hazy biographical details or the constant reading of subtitles, then you can appreciate this chic tribute.

In the end, the film is a zesty celebration of the musician that led a reckless and frisky lifestyle. Audiences will grow to love the protagonist as a talented artist capable of sweeping any woman off her feet with romantic lyrics and catchy piano riffs. Sfar excels in developing the inner emotions and thoughts of his subject through a whimsical and often comedic life-sized caricature.