She was British, but for many she embodied the ideal of a French woman. She was erotic without being sexy. Jane Birkin was an intangible being, a projection screen for millions. Now the 76-year-old has died in Paris.
It was her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg who erected one last melancholic monument: “Jane par Charlotte”, a tender documentary about Jane Birkin, the artist and singer, was released a year and a half ago and was an icon of her time. In various camera sequences, conversations and photo sessions, Charlotte Gainsbourg tries to capture her mother. She tries to feel her pain: Jane Birkin’s first daughter Kate fell out of the window of her apartment in Paris in 2013.