Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

Young Lucien parades around Nazi-occupied Paris in 1941 with a yellow star, which he has craftily turned into a sheriff star, pinned to his jacket. After graduating from art school years later, this disillusioned artist tries to earn a living by playing at local bars… and thus came about the cabaret star of the Swinging Sixties: Serge Gainsbourg. His looks may be unconventional, but he still manages to lure the mythic Brigitte Bardot to bed, seduce Jane Birkin with a pair of French flag underpants, and waltz with Juliette Greco at all hours of the night. Yet something always stands in the way of his happiness, and it takes the form of a character, La Gueule (Ugly Face), who will stimulate him, torment him, and most of all, render him the icon that continues to thrill us today.