If you’re one of the few who has followed me on social media over the past 20+ years you know how much I adored Jane Birkin. From occasionally sharing photos and videos of the talented actress, model, and popular singer to writing about her and her creative collaborators, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Birkin and celebrating her work so it saddens me to know that she has left us.
Birkin was an iconic figure throughout the 1960s and 1970s who inspired songs and cinema. Along with being married to two of our greatest musical composers (John Barry and Serge Gainsbourg), Birkin recorded many albums of her own and appeared in some of the best, most influential, and just plain fascinating and fun films from the period including The Knack and How to Get it (1965), Blow-Up (1966), Wonderwall (1968), The Swiming Pool (1969), Slogan (1969), Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973), Dark Places (1973), Seven Death’s in a Cat’s Eye (973), Je t’aime moi non plus (1976), and Death on the Nile (1978). I haven’t kept up with her post-1970s career very closely but I did write about Agnès Varda’s 1988 documentary Jane B. par Agnès V. for FilmStruck, the shortlived TCM & Criterion streaming service. Varda’s documentary explores the Birkin mystique in the director’s typically playful way. You can find that piece here: CREATIVE COLLABORATION: JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V. (1988)
R.I.P. Sweet Jane. My heart goes out to her friends and family during this difficult time.
CINEBEATS 
You must be logged in to post a comment.