Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

4/10/2024

It's one thing knowing the history of his famous song "Je t'aime" - it's quite another when you see the lyric displayed before you by way of a subtitle! No wonder it was banned - and no wonder he, and his publisher, knew exactly what buttons to press amongst the prudish establishment to maximise the success and publicity is would attain. That success is somewhat down the line, though, for the eponymous character (Eric Elmosnino) who lived his relatively short life to the full. He was in his teens when the Nazis occupied Paris and those experiences were to set a template for the future of this strong-willed Jewish lad who, at that stage, just wanted to be a painter. Oddly enough, he owed much of his survival throughout that period to an SS officer and after the war he jumped ship to become