Gainsbourg Conquers The United States

Last week, film fans on both sides of the United States got their first taste of Joann Sfar's Gainsbourg: Je t'aime...moi non plus, and they were not disappointed.  With screenings in New York (Tribeca Film Festival), Los Angeles (COLCOA), and San Francisco (SFIFF), critics and fans alike were not only celebrating Sfar's visionary work in retelling the tale of Serge Gainsbourg's life, but also in the flawless performance of Éric Elmosnino as the film's title character.

Elmosnino took top honors as an actor in the World Narrative category at this year's Tribeca Film Festival for his role as Gainsbourg, and I was lucky enough to cross paths with the actor outside of the Friday, April 23 premiere in NYC's historic Chelsea district.

 

(me and Éric Elmosnino in New York City)

I nervously walked up to him, introduced myself, and told him about this blog. He was intrigued and we spoke for a few minutes about the film and my cousin, Kacey Mottet Klein, who plays Serge as a child. He even broke off from his conversation with his chain-smoking entourage of Francophones to take this photo with me, and as we were smoking outside the theater, he asked why I wasn't in the show. I explained that I was unable to get tickets because of the high demand to see the film and that it had sold out.  He showed a look of concern, reached into his pocket, and produced this wonderful piece of paper for me. 

Thanks to Elmosnino, I was able to get into a later screening of the film the following week, where I thoroughly enjoyed virtually every element of Sfar's take on Gainsbourg's life, from the gorgeous cinematography & art direction to the special effects & the characterization his dark side, La Gueule, in addition to the unbelievable musical performances by the film's cast.

Hopefully, the popularity and accomplishments of Gainsbourg at these festivals will speed up it's distribution and release into US theaters and elsewhere around the world.  Bravo to cast and crew and special thanks to Éric for hooking me up with a ticket.  I don't know what I would've done if I'd had to wait another couple months.  

Merci beaucoup!