MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR Reviewed by GREG KING
Directors: Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade
Stars: Tahar Rahim, Marie-Julee Baup, Bastien Bouillon, Camille Moutawakil.
Charles Aznavour is one of the icons of French culture and one of the country’s most popular entertainers. His career spanned some seventy years; he wrote or co-wrote over 1000 songs and sold over 180 million records. During career he also appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably Francois Truffaut’s 1960 drama Shoot The Piano Player and the Oscar winning 1970 drama The Tin Drum.
But his life and career deserved better than this mediocre biopic. Monsieur Aznavour is a fairly conventional, straightforward biopic without much in the way of insight nor cinematic flair, especially when compared to some of the better films in this genre. It’s almost as if the filmmakers merely decided to film the highlights from his Wikipedia page without much in the way of insight or context.
Monsieur Aznavour unfolds largely in chronological order, following his rise from humble beginnings as the son of impoverished Armenian immigrants through to his songwriting partnership with Pierre Roche, his association with Edith Piaf, and his eventual success on the global stage. The film unfolds in five chapters that centre around some of the pivotal moments in his journey, and it includes plenty of samples of his songs.
Monsieur Aznavour has been written and directed by Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade (the professional name of Fabien Marsau), who gave us the 2019 drama School Life. The film has been produced by Aznaovour’s son-in-law and is something of a hagiography that presents a sanitised version of his story. It does show him as a flawed person though, something of a self-centred, narcissistic and driven perfectionist with an incredible capacity for writing and performing that saw him continually working up until his death at the age of 94.
Algerian actor Tahar Rahim (Une Prophet, etc) delivers a solid performance as Aznavour but relies heavily on prosthetics and makeup in the early sections to portray the singer. At the end of the film we get to see some archival footage of Aznavour himself. Marie-Julie Baup (from the offbeat comedy Micmacs, etc) delivers a strong, sassy performance as the strong-willed Piaf, giving us a darker take on the chanteuse than Marion Cotillard’s Oscar winning interpretation. Bastien Bouillon (recently seen as one of the villains in the lavish, epic The Count Of Monte Cristo) brings a wounded quality to his performance as the talented Roche, who is left behind as Aznavour becomes more famous.
The period detail is very good and immerses audiences in the era. Stephane Rozenbaum’s production design is good and captures the smoky nightclubs of the era. Brecht Goyvaerts’ cinematography is also quite evocative.
★★★
