The Story of a French Maestro on Silver Screen

This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I still want to mention this film I went to see: Gainsbourg. It is not just any music film, you see. It is a 2010 film about Serge Gainsbourg, the great French composer, singer, poet, actor... whose music I haven't been paying much attention to even though it is obviously great stuff.

The film was really entertaining and well-made. The acting was good, and I enjoyed the unconventional way of describing Gainsbourg's inner self. The plot followed Gainsbourg's life story nicely, concentrating on the main character's personality, scandalous love life (obviously), and the way he developed his visionary music. In my opinion, the makers of this film could have highlighted the music part a lot more but I enjoyed it like this as well. I am endlessly curious about how musicians get their inspiration, how they work on their music, and so on. That is why I probably couldn't be satisfied with a film about a musician if it didn't include (preferably a lot of) stuff about making music.

I don't often see films about musicians. That is why there aren't many film reviews/commentaries in this blog. I would love to see films about musicians more often – and not just documentaries! The strange part is that I actually found out about Serge Gainsbourg while doing research on a power pop musician years ago. Good thing, and now I think I should finally start listening to the maestro's work!

Gainsbourg IMDb article
Trailer for English-speakers (YouTube)