After Piaf (The Kid), Gainsbourg (Gainsbourg, heroic life)Claude François (Cloclo) or even Dalida (Dalida), it’s the turn of Charles Aznavour – who, we often forget, had a great career in cinema (you have to (re)see him, deceitful, larval, in The Metamorphosis of the woodlicewith Lino Ventura) – to be honored by the 7th Art with a biopic. A certain success for which we must credit Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, the co-authors and co-directors of Mr Aznavourwhere we discover the artist but also the man in a new light, far from the Drucker-style pump polish (which does not prevent respect, quite the contrary).
The film is divided into five chapters which retrace the life of Charles Aznavourian from his childhood, when he was only the son of poor Armenian immigrants, to the 1970s, when he finally touched “ the same stamp as (Frank) Sinatra », the apex of his journey (… but also a form of impasse: what to do now?).
« Gringalet 1.64 m »
We know that for Aznavour, nothing was simple. How “ sing love » when “ we are not beautiful “, that we have the physique of “ a 1.64 m roll » and a “ veiled voice » ? From the back rooms of the verdigris Paris of the Occupation to the dubious cabaret of a Montreal gangster, “little Charles” learns his classes (without bothering too much with moral considerations!). In a duo with Pierre Roche, willingly bohemian, he learned the tricks of the trade, wrote songs, worked like a Roman, with the certainty that he was much better than that.
A meeting is decisive for the satisfaction of his immense ambitions: Édith Piaf, who completes his “education”. From there, despite various setbacks and murderous criticism, Aznavour, convinced that “ you have to take risks in this profession, otherwise you are dead », will reach the top of the poster, at the very top…
Like everyone else, Charles Aznavour has a darker side (nothing very serious, however), which the authors do not avoid without playing the role of prosecutor. Disgusted with the mad cow, he did not hesitate to leave aside those who hindered his long march towards global success. We still learn that he only did the bare minimum for Patrick, a natural son.
Charles and Johnny
But that in no way diminishes its prestige. Very beautiful sequences benefiting from meticulous care in terms of reconstruction highlight Aznavour’s humanism. The most moving is perhaps the one retracing the genesis of the song As they saywhich deals with the theme of homosexuality. In the same way, Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade nicely depict his meeting with a very young Johnny Hallyday, with whom he resumes Hold back the night. Generally speaking, the production is rhythmic and without downtime.
As Charles Aznavour, Tahar Rahim bursts into the screen. This is his best role since the already distant A prophet. A few makeup tricks accentuate the resemblance, but the film owes a lot to his acting, to his presence in the image. He is surrounded by talented actors like Bastien Bouillon (Pierre Roche) and Marie-Julie Baup, the cheeky Piaf, another example of “ a time that those under 20 cannot experience ».