Nr 1 - French Scene - Charlotte Gainsbourg

Nr 1 – December 2006, page 19
The French Scene — Charlotte Gainsbourg
Half English, Half French
Born in London on July 21, 1971, Charlotte is the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane
Birkin. Her father was a very popular artist (composer, singer, director and actor) in France.
His provocative song lyrics were not always appreciated by all, but his talent was enormous.
He died in 1991. Her mother, an English actress and singer, is very famous, especially in
France.
Charlotte began her career in 1984, at the very young age of thirteen -- she sang a duo with
her father, Lemon Incest, a provocative song that brought her to the attention of the entire
country.
The same year, she played her first role in the cinema in the film Paroles et musique by the
director Elie Chouraqui, together with Catherine Deneuve.
She had her first major leading role in a film in 1985 in Claude Miller's L’effrontée
(Shameless) where her talent as an actress was widely recognized. She won the “César”
(French equivalent of an Oscar) for The Most Promising Actress for this film. In 1986, her
father wrote the music for her first solo album, Charlotte forever.
The film La petite voleuse (The Little Thief) (1989) confirmed Charlotte as an actress. She
has since played in some thirty films; some of the more memorable are: Merci la vie (Thank
You Life) by Bertrand Blier (1990), Jane Eyre by Franco Zeffirelli ( 1996 ) and La bûche
(The Christmas Log) by Danielle Thomson (1999 ) for which she won the César for Best
Supporting Actress (see page 23). Her latest film Prête-moi ta main (Lend Me Your Hand) by
Eric Lartigau is now playing in theatres throughout France.
Her schedule is currently very full because she has begun to focus once again on singing.
Twenty years after Charlotte forever, she issued a new album “5.55” with eleven songs in
English and in French. This new record has received excellent reviews by the critics and is a
big success.
Charlotte shares her life with the actor and director Yvan Attal. They are the parents of two
children: Ben, age 9 and Alice, age 4. Her talent, her discretion and her very charming
personality make her one of the French public’s favourite artists.
Charlotte Gainsbourg: mi Française, mi Anglaise
Née à Londres le 21 juillet 1971, Charlotte est la fille de Serge Gainsbourg et de Jane Birkin.
Son père était un artiste (compositeur, interprète, réalisateur, acteur) très populaire en France.
Son sens de la provocation n’était pas apprécié de tous, mais son talent était immense. Il est
mort en 1991. Sa mère, Anglaise, est une actrice et chanteuse très célèbre, surtout en France.
Charlotte a commencé sa carrière très jeune puisqu’en 1984, à l’âge de treize ans, elle
interprète Lemon Incest avec son père, chanson provocatrice qui fera longtemps parler d’elle.
Cette même année, elle fait aussi ses débuts au cinéma dans le film Paroles et musique du
réalisateur Elie Chouraqui avec Catherine Deneuve.
Elle obtient son premier rôle principal au cinéma en 1985, dans L’effrontée de Claude Miller
où l’on remarque déjà son talent. Elle décroche d’ailleurs le César du Meilleur jeune espoir
féminin pour ce film. En 1986, son père écrit pour elle son premier album : Charlotte forever.
L’une des artistes préférées du public français
Le film La petite voleuse de Claude Miller en 1989 lance sa carrière au cinéma pour de bon.
Depuis, elle a tourné une trentaine de films dont les plus célèbres sont Merci la vie de
Bertrand Blier (1990), Jane Eyre de Franco Zeffirelli (1996) et La bûche de Danièle Thomson
(1999) pour lequel elle a obtenu le César du meilleur second rôle (voir page 23).
Son dernier film Prête-moi ta main d’Eric Lartigau vient de sortir sur les écrans français.
Son actualité est très chargée en ce moment car elle revient à la chanson. Vingt ans après
Charlotte forever, elle sort un nouvel album “5.55” avec onze chansons en anglais et en
français. Ce nouveau disque a été très bien accueilli par la critique et connaît déjà un grand
succès.
Charlotte partage sa vie avec le comédien et réalisateur Yvan Attal. Ils sont les parents de
deux enfants : Ben, 9 ans et Alice, 4 ans. Son talent, sa discrétion et sa personnalité très
attachante font d’elle l’une des artistes préférées du public français.
Vincent Anthonioz
Her last movie
Prête-moi ta main, is a comedy by Eric Latigau
The story: Luis is a 43 year-old, very contented bachelor who wouldn’t change his life for
anything in the world. However, his mother and his sisters insist on finding him a wife. He
finally decides to pay a woman to marry him and then leave him on the very day of their
wedding. But will things actually turn out as planned?
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Son dernier film
Prête-moi ta main, comédie d’Eric Latigau
L’histoire : Luis a 43 ans, c’est un célibataire heureux qui ne changerait sa vie pour rien au
monde. Mais sa mère et ses sœurs veulent absolument lui trouver une épouse. Il décide alors
de louer une femme qui devra l’abandonner le jour du mariage. Mais les choses vont-elles se
passer comme il l’avait prévu ?
Charlotte’s last CD — Title: 5.55, Warner Music
Song Titles:
1. 5:55
2. AF607105
3. Operation
4. Tel Que Tu Es
5. Songs That We Sing
6. Beauty Mark
7. Little Monsters
8. Jamais
9. Night-Time Intermission
10. Everything I Cannot See
11. Morning Songs
A Selection of DVDs
Improve your language skills and enjoy French movies at the same time with some
French DVDs.
Watching French films on DVD is an excellent way to improve your understanding of spoken
French. Most of them have subtitles in French for the hearing impaired (sous-titres “sourds et
malentendants”) which are great because you get, of course, the actual texts for all the
dialogues, but also for all the sounds (such as doors opening, cars passing by, etc.). And, of
course, you can also pause and rewind when you haven’t quite understood a part of the film.
It’s a great way to improve your French, and last but not least, there are a lot of great French
movies!
Here are some of our recommendations:
L’Auberge espagnole
The 2002 film by Cedric Klapish was a huge success in France and internationally and has
since become a cult film with the young generations. It is the story of seven students from
various European countries who, thanks to the “Erasmus programme,” share a rather funky
apartment for a year in Barcelona, Spain. The most interesting, and often rather funny, part of
the movie is the reflection of their cultural differences, to which they have to adjust. It also
shows how interesting and educative such study-abroad exchange programmes can be for
improving language skills, but perhaps more importantly to learn how to live together in spite
of cultural differences. Strangely enough, we recently read that young British students are
reluctant to participate in “Erasmus”. Why?
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La Bûche
This movie by Danièle Thompson, released in 1999 and for which Charlotte Gainsbourg
received the César for Best Supporting Actress (see page 22), is about a family gathering at
Christmas time – which explains its title: “La Bûche,” which is the traditional Christmas cake
in the shape of a log (see page 6). Three sisters, with very distinctive personalities and life
styles, spend the holidays with their parents. Their differences produce inevitable clashes as
they experience just how difficult it is to adjust again.
Embrassez qui vous voudrez
The film maker Michel Blanc is himself the main character of this 2002 movie. The cast also
includes the well-known French singer Jacques Dutronc and the British actress Charlotte
Rampling. The story is about two couples and their kids who spend their summer vacation
together in Le Touquet (a famous beach resort in Normandy, 240 km from Paris), and who are
confronted with their differences and individual contradictions. Even though the story looks
very “French,” it was adapted from the novel Summer Things by the British novelist Joseph
Connolly.
Where to buy or rent DVDs?
Buying
You can buy DVDs in the large stores such as Carrefour, Leclerc, Auchan, etc; or in music
stores such as Fnac, Virgin, etc.
There are also a lot of online stores such as:
www.fnac.com
www.amazon.fr
www.virginmega.fr
www.dvdpascher.net
www.priceminister.com/video-dvd-vhs
Renting
You can always take out a subscription in a video rental store close to your home. Another
way of renting is to find one of the automated video distributors that are conveniently located
in many cities; (like the “24 self video”). You just need your credit card to rent your DVDs.
The choice can be somewhat limited in both of these outlets, however.
An additional convenient and comfortable way to rent DVDs is to rent them online. There is
a vastly greater selection of good films, depending on the site, and you have the choice of
either paying for a monthly subscription with an exchange system (you get 1, 2 or more
DVDs at a time depending on your choice and once you send them back, you get 1, 2 or more
etc.). You can also choose not to subscribe monthly but just pay up front for a certain number
of DVDs. You receive your movies in the mail along with a pre-paid envelop to send them
back in. Here are some online DVD rental sites:
www.locafilm.com
www.cinehome.com
www.glowria.fr
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