In 2018, singer Charles Aznavour died at the venerable age of 94. That year, he made another tour. This means that the immense singer-songwriter and actor in his spare time did not die on stage, but almost. This determination of Charles Aznavour to sing, always sing, and not, especially not to stop, because never satisfied with success, never satisfied, is at the heart of Mr Aznavoura biographical drama co-written and co-directed by Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir. The film is carried by an absolutely extraordinary performance by Tahar Rahim.
As you can imagine, it must not have been easy to construct a scenario worthy of the exceptional destiny of Charles Aznavour. So many artistic successes, significant encounters, incredible anecdotes, not to mention a not exactly boring private life… All this, spread over long, very long years…
What Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir decided to remember (Patients ; School life) proves fascinating at the beginning as well as in the middle. Thus, after a beautiful prologue showing how Charles Aznavour, born Aznavourian, inherited his taste for spectacle from his Armenian emigrant parents, we continue with the harsh years of Nazi occupation, during the Second World War. This part, which returns among other things to Aznavour’s participation in the Resistance, is captivating, perhaps because it is little-known.
Charles Aznavour becomes friends with Pierre Roche (Bastien Bouillon)… Together, they are famous. Enter Edith Piaf (fa-bu-leuse Marie-Julie Baup), who takes them under her wing, especially the first. However, the generosity of the Môme is accompanied by demands that, in the long term, are too great.
Without forgetting the Montreal interlude at the Golden Pheasant cabaret (Serge Postigo plays co-owner Edmond Martin), then the return to Paris during which Aznavour decides to go it alone from now on… As we saw him leave behind his first wife and their child ( “If I have to leave everyone behind, I will,” he warned), we see him breaking his association with Roche.
But the climb is long and arduous. In the press, he is sometimes treated with indifference, sometimes by ridiculing his difference: the small size, the prominent nose (he will have it redone), the “veiled” voice… Humiliation becomes a driving force for success, one more.
In an ingenious contrast, the filmmakers evoke the decisive moment when Aznavour finally achieves a real triumph, when he releases a brand new song: I already saw myselfabout the setbacks of a failed singer, the exact opposite of what is happening.
During its first hour or so, the film takes on the trappings of a true historical chronicle, both ample and precise. We are carried away.
Amazing voice work
The film is a little less conclusive afterwards. As the denouement approaches, in fact, we feel an urgency to cover as much ground as possible in as little time as possible. In doing so, the processing becomes a bit redundant. Composition of a new immortal song, reminder of this devouring need to surpass itself, indescribable dissatisfaction, personal life which is failing: apply, repeat.
Eventually, we have the impression of being in front of a “ best of » put into images. This last part is nonetheless crossed by some other beautiful ideas, such as the scenes, filmed identically but at different times, where Aznavour, alone in a hotel room which was first shabby then luxurious, confides to his sister Aïda (Camille Moutawakil) on the phone.
Times change, but the loneliness that accompanies the singer’s ambition remains.
And as we mentioned from the outset, there is Tahar Rahim who, in gestures, in voice and in emotions, literally becomes Charles Aznavour. His vocal work, both on stage and during everyday sequences, is incredible (as explained in an interview with DutyAznavour’s voice was mixed with Rahim’s on certain pieces, but the second sang everything during filming).
Excellent in performance, the prosthetic makeup which increases the resemblance never screens the nuances that the actor infuses into his performance. With this number which is perfect in every way, we can bet that Charles Aznavour would have been… satisfied.
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