Paolo Conte at the center of a chic and charming documentary

Pince-sans-rire, lordly, classy. Paolo Conte, creator and performer of Via con me, but also some grandiose ones Gli impermeabili, Sotto le stelle del jazz, Max or even Hemingway, appears authentic in the documentary devoted to him, just released in French-speaking Switzerland. This film is an opportunity to delve into its mystery. It's also a beautiful object, which has Chic and charming from the song of the same name.

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of attending a Paolo Conte concert knows all about his talent, his magic and the excellence of his orchestra. Of his music that communicates nothing, but expresses everything. Of his Italian, which speaks to us even when we don't speak Italian. From his attitude as a «teller» like Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, or in another register, Barbara and William Sheller. But the layman has to take his word for it. The music documentary Paolo Conte, Via con me, rich in show excerpts, archives and interviews, remedies this problem.

Better still, this feature-length film directed by Giorgio Verdelli (who has 200 films and reports to his credit!) offers a genuine, easy-to-follow analysis of what makes Paolo Conte's universe so unique and interesting. «The essence of my cinematic work is to make the perception of Conte's great songs the story of the infinite possibilities of interpretation available to us in relation to our own feelings,» confides the director, internationally recognized as a music expert. However, one constant emerges from the keys to understanding the songs, a constant confirmed by Paolo Conte himself:

«I've always seen myself as a kind of landscape writer.»

Le film décrit également les contours de la relation intellectuelle et sentimentale qui lie l’Italien à la France. Si sa renommée est mondiale, elle est particulière au pays de Molière et d’Aznavour. Le prince Conte y a puisé certaines de ses références pour donner un sens à son œuvre. Ainsi cette expression dont il a baptisé son style, lorsqu’il était en Hexagone: «une confusion mentale fin de siècle». Les Français ont toujours aimé «les plaisanteries qui poussent un peu à la réflexion», dixit le crooner à la gueule de caoutchouc.

An atmosphere of painting and cinema

But how to describe the emotions that this singer-songwriter from Asti in Piedmont, a lawyer by profession, exudes? The documentary puts words to this ordinarily unspeakable mood. Paolo Conte's songs are films of music and words, blue-colored verses concentrated into three minutes. They unfold in the depths of Italy's great provinces, giving them a universal dimension. They have the color and smell of summer afternoons. They represent the perfect blend of tradition and innovation. With the result described by actress Luisa Ranieri:

«Quelqu’un a dit qu’écouter Paolo Conte, c’est comme être à l’arrière-boutique d’un grand café napolitain, où nous vient un parfum de magie, d’aphrodisiaque»

Un témoignage qui concorde avec celui du journaliste Vincenzo Mollica: «Je me suis rendu compte que les chansons de Paolo Conte sont toujours le fruit de musique, de poésie et de peinture. Il y a cet élément supplémentaire que les autres n’ont pas.» D’où le caractère unique de cet avocat-artiste, émule jazzy de Fellini, pianiste virtuose et joueur de kazoo, instrument-prolongement de sa voix rauque et mélancolique, grave et enfantine à la fois, râpeuse et pourtant mélodieuse. Paolo Conte, Via con me will convince those who were unaware of his existence - or who ignored this strange dandy by choice - to take the Italian genius on a journey through his work.

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Photo credits: © Daniela Zedda