Search - Jane Birkin: Rendez-Vous Avec Jane on DVD

Indestructible Jane

MauricioD | 05/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This charming 2005 quasi-documentary merits greater exposure. It follows British singer-celebrity Jane Birkin as she meets with diverse celebrated artists and composers of various genres in Britain and France to perform more than a dozen captivating contemporary songs in French mostly, several of them in that particular brand of innocent and more often than not not-so-innocent style of hers (she recorded the original 'Je t'Aime, Moi non-plus' with then companion Serge Gainsbourg on the "Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg" LP in 1969). If ever a lesser cultural icon rated a following (the much-in-demand $6,000 Hermés-Birkin handbag is named after her), Birkin is that person. From first acquaintance in movies in a bit part in director Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Blow Up' (1966, as one of photographer David Hemmings' groupies), through 'The Swimmming Pool' (1969, w. Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet and Romy Schneider) on to 'Daddy Nostalgia' (1990, w. Dirk Bogarde as her estranged father) and many more such, as director Jacques Rivette's 'La Belle Noiseuse' (1991, w. Michel Piccoli and Emmanuélle Béart) with frequent-enough recordings or singing for soundtracks (she performs 'Je t'Aime, Moi non-plus' in director Griffin Dunne's 'Addicted to Love,' w. Meg Ryan and Mathew Broderick as well as in Peter Cattaneo's 'The Full Monty,' both movies 1997), and a semi-autobiographical 'Boxes' (as director and cast, 2007). Birkin is a survivor with a style all her own, making herself noticed and missed when out of the limelight."