April 25, 2010 12:00PM EDT

Q&A: Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime... Moi Non Plus

Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime... Moi Non Plus sprung from the wild mind of artist and prolific graphic novelist Joann Sfar, who is famous for his books like Vampire Loves, Little Vampires, Sardine in Outer Space, and the award-winning book The Rabbi's Cat. Gainsbourg, starring Eric Elmosnino, is an adaptation of a graphic novel of the same name by Sfar, who wrote and directed this visually arresting movie about the infamous singer.

Sfar's vision of Gainsbourg is a heady mix of sex and cigarette smoke, with a surreal twist. Gainsbourg is followed by a sort of evil twin, La Gueule (aka The Mug), played by Doug Jones of Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, and many other transformative roles. La Guele is an exaggerated version of Gainsbourg, with huge ears and a huge nose and naughty advice for the controversial singer. Rather than a straight biopic, Sfar's movie is a stylized version of the singer's life, from being a smooth-talking, cigarette-smoking little boy who makes sure to be first in line to get his yellow "Juif" (Jew) star during World War II, to the scandalous womanizer he became as an adult. The film also features performances of his most famous songs, like La Javanaise and his racy duet with lover and future wife Jane Birkin, Je t'Aime... Moi Non Plus.

Star Eric Elmosnino was at the US premiere of the film, which is also known as Gainsbourg vie héroïque, to talk to the audience about his seamless transformation, La Gueule, and much more. (Tragically, his costar Lucy Gordon committed suicide in May 2009; the film is dedicated to her.)

Through a translator, Elmosino told the audience that he did the singing himself—"I tried to sing," he joked—and that it helped him quite a bit to work with La Gueule, in that they became partners, in a way. (DDT SFX Crew, who also worked on the aforementioned productions with Jones, among others, did the special effects for the movie, including the special effects makeup.) "When [I] was reading the script, [I] was also wondering if this was going to be someone I'm actually working with, or is this something else that is going to be added, but it was, in fact, a partner in the process, so it helped."

Elmosino added that when he initially met with Sfar, it was for another project, an upcoming adaptation of The Rabbi's Cat, but wasn't otherwise familiar with Sfar's "world" before meeting with him. As Elmosino seamlessly transformed himself into Gainsbourg, The Rabbi's Cat's loss was Gainsbourg's gain, to to speak.

---

Find out where and when you can see Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime... Moi Non Plus next with the official Festival film guide.