Genre

Road movie that thrives on vibrant jazz music, insights into the French way of life, and a wild romance that pushes to the limits of self-distruction.

Logline

An aging and unsuccessful experimental rock singer from New York takes off to France just before her 50th birthday. There, she crosses paths with a french taxi driver, jazz guitarist on the side, and she reignites her long-buried dream of becoming a famous artist.

Synopsis

JANIS has already gone through several unsuccessful phases of self-discovery in her life- first as a grungy rock artist, then as a painterwhose experimental work remained largely unnoticed. She and her marriage are deep into a late-blooming «just-before-50» midlife crisis when JANIS discovers that she’s inherited a house from her father in France – a man whom she’s never known. Settling this matter and selling the house becomes the perfect excuse to escape her frustrations in New York by taking a flight to Paris. Might she discover parts of herself which are a little bit… french ?

 

Yes, Janis will find herself reborn in France in the world of jazz, thanks to her new musician friend SERGE. Her journey to fame begins, and it’s a wild ride.

 

Her supportive husband DAVE, a musicologist who runs a small but sophisticated radio station in New York, encourages her from the distance to take this journey. And while he observes her success in France, he begins sharing her story with his American audience. What he seems to overlook – or maybe chooses to ignore – is that in France, JANIS isn’t just discovering jazz; she’s also finding a great romance.

 

SERGE is really a jazz guitarist at heart, but with no gigs. He’s convinced that one doesn’t need much to live a happy life and occasionally drives a taxi. By coincidence he takes JANIS from the railway station to her father’s house – a slightly run-down manor in a remote village deep in the French countryside, worlds away from the glitz of Paris or Lyon. It’s the start of an unusual love-hate relationship that will, in time, yield something truly valuable for both of them – and will ultimately bear rich, artistic fruit. Janis expresses her new feelings into song lyrics and while jamming together, the first pieces of their own music start to take shape. Serge’s Jazz Fender has a small defect – sometimes the E string slips out of place, creating strange, off-kilter vibrations and slightly dissonant notes. Or is it in truth his own misplay? Janis loves these particular notes and this becomes a symbol of the intense physical pull SERGE exerts on her.

 

Working together with other musicians, chaotic journeys to the venues, exiting performances, the first setbacks – soon followed by great success with the audience… It feels as though an exciting and wonderful future lies ahead for the two of them.

The problem is this: SERGE has a 19 year old son who’s always getting into trouble, and a wife who’s less than thrilled about the new American singer in his life. JAMILA, a native algerien women without any understanding for art, and even less the artist’s muse, puts more and more pressure on him to walk away from that « jazzproject » and spend more time with his son instead.
Meanwhile, JANIS eventually demands that SERGE commits fully to their new relationship. She sinks deeper and deeper into an emotionally
dependent relationship, teetering on the edge of obsession, while also developing a growing, undeniable problem with alcohol. (There’s a touch
of Amy Winehouse’s destiny in the mix too.)

Things take a turn when SERGE’s son ends up in jail after a violent altercation with a bouncer who won’t let him into one of SERGE’s concerts. The situation escalates: the stress of his newfound success, guilt over his jealous wive, and above all his son in trouble… plus Janis, who still drives him crazy and wants more. Finally cornered by thrill-seeking journalists as the «bad father», Serge snaps and kind of destroys the successful collaboration.

 

Now, JANIS must learn to stand on her own as a jazz singer and try to find her way back to her ancient life.

 

With the support of her partner Dave and her music production, she begins to reconnect with the success she built in France, even in parts of the U.S.

Back home, during a Thanksgiving dinner with Dave and some close friends in New York, they joke about Janis’s mysterious trip to France. Was there something more to it? Janis remains silent, but even though her all-consuming love affair with Serge never found a true happy ending – or any clear ending at all – she can finally move forward with a sense of peace, free from the feeling that she’s missed out on anything essential.

 

 

 

Reference films

At a time when the market might be saturated with biographical rock and pop films built around familiar myths (Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen, Rocketman – Elton John, Elvis, Back to Black – Amy Winehouse, A Complete Unknown – Bob Dylan…), « E-String » choses a different path. This story approaches jazz not as nostalgia, but as a contemporary language.
Visually, Janis’s color-saturated performances could gesture toward a French La La Land. Unlike many music films, the script does not tell a legend, does not mythologize a star, and does not use music as mere decoration. Instead, music shall become a relational space — a place where intimacy, power, conflict, and desire are negotiated in real time.

 

 

 

Marriage Italian Style (1964)
Much like Filumena in «Marriage Italian Style» (1964), directed by Vittorio De Sica, Janis struggles for dignity, recognition, and control. She is forced to disguise her needs through irony, emotional restraint, and artistic expression. And just like Domenico, Serge loves Janis “in his own way” — yet he also exploits her emotional and creative investment, while remaining deeply afraid of commitment.

 

 

 

«Notting Hill» (1999)
Another asymmetrical love affair between two people living in fundamentally different emotional and social realities : Similar to Notting Hill, our story contrasts the seductive surface of fame with its emotional consequences. Public success does not resolve private conflict — it intensifies it. And like Notting Hill romanticizes a neighborhood, this film romanticizes an artistic life in France – turning place, lifestyle, and creativity into emotional protagonists. Even if « E-String » does not end with the clear-cut “happily ever after” of Notting Hill, viewers will leave satisfied, having witnessed a deeply romantic and life-affirming journey.

 

 

 

À bout de souffle (1960)
Just like in «Breathless», the screenplay captures the spontaneous, slightly rebellious energy in France. Janis and Serge live in a world that is simultaneously glamorous and precarious. Unlike classic Hollywood romances, their story thrives on intimacy and real-life struggles rather than idealized narratives. While «À bout de souffle» celebrated the freedom and unpredictability of post-war Parisian youth, this film channels that same spirit into a contemporary artistic and musical lifestyle. Intimacy should feel raw and lived-in, with the same tactile closeness.

For any further information or if you would like to read the full synopsis or screenplay, please contact me in France. I speak english, german and french.

Christine Engelbrecht
Tel. +33 (0)4 70 34 70 34
WhatsApp : +33 (0) 7 81 16 21 45
Email: engelbrecht@logotyp.de