Synopsis

The Enchanting Melody: Michel Legrand is a captivating portrait of renowned jazz musician and film composer Michel Legrand. Utilizing personal archive footage shot on Super 8 film, the documentary takes the audience through the final two years of his life, highlighting major events in cities like Paris, Moscow, and Łódź. The film intimately captures not only Legrand’s moments with colleagues, friends, and his wife, but also the solitary hours he spent absorbed in composing.

Program Note

To burn with passion for what you love until the very end of life—this is why many musicians express the desire to “die on stage.” French composer, film scorer, conductor, and jazz pianist Michel Legrand passed away in 2019 at the age of 86. From the explosive creativity of the 1950s, freely moving between classical and jazz, France and the U.S., to the global recognition he gained in the 1960s with the soundtrack for *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg*, and finally to the vivid moments of his last concert in December 2018, when he never let go of music. This film is a portrait of a headstrong artist beloved across generations. (Kim Yoon-ha)

Director

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  • David Hertzog-Dessites
  • Born in Cannes, David Hertzog-Dessites moved to Paris in 2000 to begin building expertise in field production. In 2015, he met maestro Ennio Morricone and produced a 28-minute video documentary. In 2017, he met Michel Legrand, and through two years of collaboration, created an exclusive feature-length documentary for theatrical release.