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Really Surprised!

Excellent adaptation.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Gainsbourg and Birkin were actually quasi believable together, and the look of the film is 1000% late 60's "European" cinema. Nothing profound, but serviceable acting, decent production values, OK direction from Pierre Grimblat. Gainsbourg was not exactly a retiring sort of guy, to judge from the self-like character he plays in this film. His signature song of the era should have been titled "Je m'aime". Birkin had the ability to do ugly or beautiful, probably a source of her success as a model and sometime actress. I doubt that Birkin and Gainsbourg split up in the manner shown in the movie, but I don't know. "Slogan" is end of the decade mood music, which at the same time serves as a transition to the 70's. You can see where the look of things is headed in fashion, music, and popular culture generally from watching this movie, apparently a "lost film" for about 40 years.

I would say this tale of a May-December romance between a married frog-like advertisement producer/director (Serg Gainsbourg) and a naive but stunning British beauty (Jane Birkin) is pretty far-fetched,that is if life hadn't imitated art and the two actors hadn't become a real-life item. In fact, out of this unholy union was born the talented French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg--and one of the few actresses I find sexier than the younger Gainsbourg is her mother Jane Birkin, who I could quite happily watch clipping her toe-nails for 90 minutes.This isn't really much of a movie beyond the two leads. But Birkin does a lot more than clip her toe-nails--she gives a very good performance as a breath-takingly beautiful but mentally unstable young woman. And Gainsbourg, despite looking like "Mr. Bean", has genuine charisma, kind of like a Gallic version of Humphrey Bogart (and he sure sucks down the cigarettes like Bogie). It's also pretty neat the way the movie incorporates the Gainsboug character's goofy TV ads into the story of their relationship, thus giving a kind of pop-art sensibilty to the whole thing. Yes, the movie is a little fluffy and shallow. It's not exactly "La Dolce Vida", but it does have the typical 60's European sensibilty. It's not great, but worth seeing perhaps if you enjoy the films of that era.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS (though I doubt if anybody really cares) This was a nice movie; essentially it shows the love between Serge and Jane. I get the feeling that when it developed, in real life, the director decided to make it the ONLY plot theme instead of the main one. Well, fair enough and when Jane was shown seated, nude, on the bath tub, the last thing I was concerned about was with whatever plot was occurring at that point. In fact, that scene is why I gave the movie an "8" instead of a "6" or "7"; which is what it would ordinarily enjoy.Still, once in a while other characters appear and reappear during the movie (other than Serge's wife I mean) and I think they were supposed to represent some sort of plot that was intended, but never shown. There is a scene, early in the movie, where he makes some objects disappear with a snap of his fingers; something that can be done in a TV advertisement easily enough and Serge somehow had this ability in the movie. It was performed once and never again. It is somewhat at variance with the rest of the film, and probably represents a plot line that was never followed up. One thing that hurt the movie (concerning "suspension of disbelief") was the idea that Serge would let Jane go; instead of marrying her. What man would actually do that to a 23 year old beauty? It is sorta stretching suspension of disbelief that a man would do so, and, in fact, Serge did not (in real life). One other matter that seems at variance with the primary idea of the movie is the wife that Serge leaves for "his homebreaker"; as he describes Jane Birkin. The wife is actually a very attractive woman and Serge should have shown more conflict about leaving her for the equally attractive, but younger, woman.Like I said, in real life a romance developed between Serge and Jane during the filming so I presume the director decided to concentrate on that; even at the expense of the believability of the movie. Can't blame him; it actually makes the movie even more entertaining.

Jane Birkin is English and mispronounces all of her r's in this movie. Still, her French is infinitely easier to understand than Serge's mumbling. They are cute together, although the plot of a doomed affair feels trite. The magic and music make the movie. Serge can make people and things vanish by snapping his fingers. This is analogous to the way he speeds up life and creates unbelievable situations in his commercials, like a man seducing a strange woman in a train-car by showing off his aftershave. This looks like it may have inspired Axe deodorant, which also has an off-the-wall French ad campaign.The music is various clips of an instrumental version of the brilliant "Chanson de Slogan." He mixes this with a drumbeat, which eventually alternates phrases with the other song toward the denouement. Like in Je t'aime, moi non plus, the music stands out so much that I would have liked to have been enveloped in a larger number of melodies. These were enchanting though.