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.
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.