Monsieur Aznavour (M) – 134 minutes

Driven and never satisfied, the life of one of the great singer/songwriters is put under the microscope in Monsieur Aznavour.

The movie is underpinned by a most appealing music bed, featuring several of Frenchman Charles Aznavour’s (22nd May 1924 – 1st October 2018) finest songs.

There are also some of his less known numbers.

It tracks back to his childhood with his sister, Aida, who is still with us, at age 102.

Of Armenian descent, Aznavour’s parents introduced him to performing at an early age.

When WWII arrived, the family hid people persecuted by the Nazis. Charles and his sister were involved in “rescue activities”.

Aznavour performed in nightclubs and formed a partnership with pianist and singer Pierre Roche.

On one occasion the pair was witnessed by acclaimed French singer and lyricist Edith Piaf, who subsequently took Aznavour under her wing.

Aznavour and Roche became her warmup act and then travelled to and performed in Montreal before, on Piaf’s advice, Aznavour branched out on his own.

That included walking away from his commitment to return to Canada, ditching his wife (with whom he had a daughter) and breaking his partnership with Roche.

A tireless worker who craved the adoration of a crowd, Aznavour also came to recognise that his dedication to Piaf was holding him back.

But success didn’t come easily. With his diminutive stature, unattractive look and nasally voice, many of his initial reviews were unfavourable and inflammatory.

When fame did come, he capitalised upon it, touring extensively, singing songs in multiple languages.

The movie shows Aznavour to have been self-centred and, on occasion, withdrawn.

He is painted as an inveterate womaniser, a hard task master, an astute marketer, generous to his loved ones and performing until the end.

He could also be broad minded, as shown when he wrote a moving song about a homosexual singer he met in a cabaret bar.

His voice was that of a raspy tenor and his empathetic chanson material connected with people.

Monsieur Aznavour is a densely packed biopic of a man who wasn’t always attractive.

He loved hard, but he could also be quite dismissive … discarding those who didn’t or no longer fitted his agenda.

Tahar Rahim does a fine job in the lead, transforming himself – warts and all – into Aznavour. He carries the movie with distinction through the adult phases of Aznavour’s life.

Bastien Bouillon is personable as his musical partner Pierre Roche, while Marie-Julie Baup is a scene stealer as the strong-willed Edith Piaf.

Camille Moutawakil comes across as empathetic as Aznavour’s loyal sister.

Having listened to Aznavour’s 1,200 songs and watched documentaries and his interviews, the writer/directors pared back their initial 200-page script.

In so doing, Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade have still given us a vivid picture of a born showman, whose life had many ups and downs.

Monsieur Aznavour is visually stimulating too, as we see the transformation from struggle to opulence.

Before viewing it, I only had a very broad-brush picture of Aznavour, so the film proved to be an eye opener for me.

Rated M, it scores a 7½ out of 10.