What was depressing Joe Dassin lately? Could he have saved himself?
He was always in a white, brightly coloured suit. His charming smile, peaceful and velvety voice drove millions of girls and women crazy. The image of the snow-white angel sent from heaven forced people to cling with awe to the screens and, without ceasing, to follow his singing and the way he moved on the stage. He inspired calmness and some inner confidence, mere mortals could not get it. He was a guide, and his voice was a guide!
But who was the man behind that snow-white facade? Did the image on stage correspond to his real image? Who was Joe Dassin in ordinary life?
When our Russian film crew went to Paris to shoot the documentary film "Joe Dassin. The Story of One Prophecy", they had to interview the musician's close friends and relatives. In the process, they discovered for themselves and others a completely different Dassin that few people knew about before. In fact, the singer was an insecure person, very imaginative and complex. He was afraid of something and tried to hide it from others. Where did it all come from in him? Let's try to understand.
He was 20 years old, studying at the University of Michigan in the USA. In a few years he was to become a graduate anthropologist, researching the origins, customs and cultures of the world's peoples. But fate had it differently: one fine day, choosing between another expedition to the interior of the Americas and a trip to Europe, he chose the latter and climbed on a cargo liner and travelled across the ocean to another continent.
In Europe he was immediately overwhelmed from head to toe by the social life: he had affairs with girls, played guitar, wrote and acted in films. After a little time, he met a girl named Marise. She decided to "okhomutat" passionate lover and formalise their union officially. When it came to the day of registration, Joe Dassin appeared in a very strange outfit: the suit was old and shabby, on his face flaunted 3-day stubble, and he was drunk in a stool. But that didn't bother Marise, she saw potential in him, and she could hear his voice, which could make millions of people listen to him for hours without stopping to whisper.
Of course, all his entourage was delighted with what had happened: at last he had become a family man. But all his friends and relatives were even happier about the creative success he had achieved. However, such a dizzying rise frightened even himself. Joe experienced it with difficulty ... By nature, he was an ordinary non-public person, popularity depressed him, and he could not fully enjoy life as before. His private life was not his own now, it was public domain. His shyness prevented him from becoming a star more and more every day. Against all odds, he still achieved the recognition of millions and became one of the most popular singers of the 20th century. But what did it cost him?!
From interviews with his friends and family, it appears that he struggled with a split personality. His nature struggled with itself more and more every day. Towards the end of his life he was deeply depressed, the more he was irradiated by fame, the more he withdrew into himself. He just wanted to be alone. He confessed once, "I'm afraid of my own fame."
His personal life was turned upside down when he met a girl on an aeroplane. The girl's name was Christine. In the film "Joe Dassin. The Story of One Prophecy" details their love story. Life had changed, and not for the better! The role of wife Christine was not good. She was very jealous, irascible and uncontrollable.
The drugs and alcohol that Christine used to drink fuelled the fire. Of course, Joe did not stay away and kept her company, this lifestyle changed him. When the process of divorce began, in court, Joe Dassin said that for their children would be better if the upbringing will be taken up by him, as he does not see his wife in this role. She could simply harm the children, damaging their psyche. The court was able to discern Christine's nature, and to the surprise of many, Joe was awarded custody of the children. At the time, it was a rather bold decision for the court to give custody to the father rather than the mother.
All this had a terrible effect on the singer. His creative life was not going through the best of times, his family life fell apart, leaving him with his children. His health and mental state was failing... As a result, he earned a heart attack at the age of 41. It was a disaster!
He was used to a rambunctious lifestyle, the sudden change of contrasts was not good for him. He was a musician, and he couldn't do without it! It had been a month since Joe had been out of hospital. There was no money, and he couldn't afford not to make money either. Luxury and comfort had always been his companions: expensive hotels, expensive drinks, women, tennis, golf, skiing, holidays in luxury resorts... This lifestyle required huge investments. Deciding to take a break, he took his family: his mother and two tiny children; invited his close friend Claude Lemel and went on holiday to Tahiti. Two days later, he died. It happened very quickly. In a restaurant at the table...
If fate had decreed otherwise and he had died in a car crash, for example, millions of fans would have been left with unanswered questions to fate and God. But what happened was different, it was a personal tragedy. His inner motor just couldn't take the strain. His heart stopped...
And here we should leave the rhetorical question: "Would Joe Dassin have been happier if he had not gone to Europe then? What kind of person would he have become if he had chosen the profession of an anthropologist and scientist? What would have happened to his work, to his songs, to his voice? Would the world have noticed the absence of Joe Dassin's musical genius?"
