Il était une fois Michel Legrand (Once Upon a Time: Michel Legrand) by David Hertzog Dessites

In the film, the viewer senses you were very close to Michel Legrand. How long did you spend shadowing him? 

Almost two years. It really mattered to him that the person filming him knew what they were doing. Initially, he wanted to control practically everything. And then one day he said: ‘I’ve thought about it. You go and make the film you want to make. You need to be free’. I was incredibly touched, because coming from him, it was a real sign of faith. Michel and I were extremely close at times.

How has Michel Legrand’s music impacted you? 

In 2017, Michel performed at the Festival de Cannes, and that’s when I first met him. I went up to him and said: ‘Monsieur Legrand, you’re kind of the reason I’m here’. My parents had the L’Affaire Thomas Crown record, I grew up hearing that music from the moment I was born. I used to watch Il était une fois…l’Espace too, an eighties cartoon. Then there was Yentl, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg… I realised that Michel Legrand’s music was woven through my entire life.

Your film captures his final gig. What frame of mind were you in while filming this incredible moment?  

I’d like to point out that initially the film wasn’t meant to be the way it turned out. But life has a funny way of making plans for you. Michel fell sick in March 2018, and that completely overturned my vision of the film. I was scared that we’d get to the concert, and Michel would be exhausted. It’s safe to say that that evening was truly something special. It was an historic moment, because what you’re witnessing is a swan song. As Mathieu Herzog (the orchestra conductor in the film) points out, some were at the Queen concert in Wembley in 1986. We were at Michel Legrand’s last ever concert at the Philharmonic.

The film’s contributors and footage show just how disciplined the musician was, but point to a hot-headed character at times, too. Was it important that this portrait be a realistic reflection that showed his faults, too?  

Absolutely. I didn’t want the film to be servile. Everyone knows Michel Legrand was a genius, that’s just a fact. But capturing him in his more nuanced moments struck me as valuable. Again, Michel put his faith in me, as did his children, Macha [Méril]. He had said to me: ‘Show what you want to show’.

What would you like people to remember of Michel Legrand, following the release of your film? 

I’d like for people to watch the film and take away the image of a giant, the kind that may well soon be extinct. A warrior of his art.