Review for CloClo

I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. Biopics are rarely great, even if you know and love the artiste in question. But I was so completely won over by the dizzyingly creative production values, the imaginative direction and artistry, and the powerhouse performances that I was actually at point of heralding it a masterpiece – until I calmed down, let it all sink in, and pulled together this less emotive appraisal. (Watch it – you’ll see what I mean).


Claude Francois was France’s answer to The Beatles. Well, less of an answer and more of a contemporary. Coming to prominence at the tail-end of the Rock ‘n’ Roll era (and rivalling national treasure, Johnny Hallyday), Francois seem to have the uncanny knack for re-invention, taking him through from jazz crooner to Rock n’ Roller to Soul Boy to Disco King – adapting with chameleon like cool to the latest trends, and delivering it back in his own uniquely French camp style.
Singing in French, he failed to make much of a mark outside of his native France, though he did pen the original ‘My Way’ which became Sinatra’s (his idol's) signature tune, as well as countless other melodies covered by other artistes of the day (‘Daydreamer’ by David Cassidy is just one example).


The film energetically pours in an incredible 39 year lifetime into under three hours and does so with a great deal of sensitivity and panache with the fantastic Jérémie Renier (In Bruges, Potiche) in the title role as a terribly convincing doppelganger.


It traces CloClo’s (as he became affectionately known) life from his birth in Egypt, and his family’s unfortuanate and swift exit as a result of the Suez crisis, throwing them from a wealthy life to a life of poverty in Monaco. His dominating father takes to drink and becomes ill, stubbornly refusing to listen to his son’s pleas to give up his dead-end job in a bank to pursue a career in music. When Claude decides to go against his father’s wishes in this regard, and take a job as a house drummer at a local hotel, his father refused to speak to ever speak to him again – a source of great sorrow and regret throughout the film.


It’s not long until Claude is singing and he eventually persists with a local Phillips A & R man to get his first single cut. An unmitigated failure, he turns on the charm again to get a second single – this time an adaption of a US hit, ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’ which became his first smash hit, as ‘Belles! Belles! Belles!’. One hit follows another and the hard-working Claude is soon one of France’s biggest stars.


Throughout there is a back-story with his mother constantly gambling away what little remains of her money as well as relationships, marriages, affairs and tantrums.


The film slides effortlessly from the 60’s to the 70’s – and into the early 80’s when Claude met an untimely end, touching a faulty light whilst taking a shower and electrocuting himself, dead at 39, arguably still at the very top of his game.

There is a great deal of exposure to the supposed private insecurities, the OCD behaviour and the ruthless business focus and ambition that drove the man.

It’s brilliantly constructed and two and a half hours fly by, completely changing my view that no film should run for more than 90 minutes. There really isn’t an ounce of fat, and every scene has been recreated with an incredible eye for period detail. Quite, quite excellent.


The transfer is fantastic too – a really top notch DVD. I am unsure if a Blu-Ray is available but if it looks this great in standard definition it will undoubtedly make an excellent HD transfer too.


Sadly there are no extras, other than a trailer which actually may prove valuable if you need to convince anyone else to watch the film. After all, you will have to battle that ‘sub-title’ thing – really not a problem here.

Definitely one to get hold of.