Sagan (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Perfect cast and a good story

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This film started as a TV miniseries; it was chopped down to feature length for general release. I don't think it is an important film, being rushed and skimpy on character development. Guy Schoeller meets Francoise at a book signing and ten seconds later, they're getting wed, and shortly after that, divorced. It was very hard to keep track of the many characters who drop in to the story, then abruptly exit. Just when did Mme. Lebreton enter Francoise's life anyway? Sylvie Testud does a tremendous job of playing Francoise Sagan; she must have been a sort of Rimbaud of the moneyed class, and Testud captures all the wild, impulsive, spendthrift behavior Sagan was noted for. Pierre Palmade as Chazot walks through an underwritten part (all the supporting parts are underwritten) but is interesting to look at.

It leaves you a weird feeling afterwards, if, like me, you enjoy and believe in free life-styles. Because she was really free, in advance on her time, never cared about other's opinions... which is something I entirely admire and quite try to do. But she ended up alone, pathetically alone. And this makes you wonder if this life-style you aim to reach is a good choice. Strangely I am convinced it wasn't the aim of the movie, to make you wonder about the emptiness of her life. So maybe it's me again who is projecting (some worries nowadays about where my Independence drives me?). Or maybe, as we say in French, you can't have the butter and the money for the butter, meaning, every life-style choice has negative consequences: chose freedom, you will end up alone; chose love and commitment to others, you will end up feeling coerced. In any case, happiness is not at the end, so enjoy the moment...

Sagan's charisma lies in two elements: her intelligence and sincerity. She is apt at using simple but touching words and phrases, for example, the monologue on the first page of Bonjour, Tristesse. Her legendary life, full of inspiration, enthusiasm, caprice, sometimes looks like an enigma, mysterious and compellent,even her unconventional behavior looks acceptable. Though the film seems to be a little bit insipid, or rather dull, lacking passion and elegancy;the final scene her unreal talk to his son is truly moving. Sylvie Testud's casting is admirable, and i think she wears a unique temperament, close to a temperament of a poet and aristocratic temperament.

It seems to be a trend in French mainstream movies nowadays, to film the story of celebrities' lives. "Sagan" is just another example.This author lived a quite unhappy life, being used but also letting herself be used by flatterers and others. They all disappeared and betrayed her, like she betrayed many people, including her son.But this story is told in such a common way. The main character is complex, but still made very easy to understand. It's all simplified in a moralizing way. Not that you can object much about moralizing over this destructive life and surely, this is entertaining and absolutely not stupid. But Sagan deserves better.