‘Born to Be Blue’ director talks acclaimed film ahead of its Louisiana Film Fest debut

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Chet Baker biopic searches for deeper truths 

Canadian filmmaker Robert Budreau wrote and directed Born to Be Blue, the impressionistic biopic about jazz star Chet Baker. Ethan Hawke portrays Baker in the comeback saga about the troubled trumpet player who also sang in such haunted, mystical tones.

Born to Be Blue, a major attraction at this year’s Louisiana International Film Festival, is showing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Cinemark Perkins Rowe.

The film, especially Hawke’s performance as Baker, has earned widespread acclaim from film critics. Born to Be Blue rates an impressive 83% positive ranking at review aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com.

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Did you read and watch everything you could find about Chet Baker before you wrote the Born to Be Blue script?
Budreau: I did. I watched Bruce Weber’s documentary [Let’s Get Lost]. I read all of the biographies. The research led me to structure the film as a reimagining, not a traditional biopic.

Were certain incidents in Baker’s life especially inspiring?
I was fascinated that he was asked to star as himself in a movie. I was fascinated that thugs beat him up and he lost all of his teeth and had to struggle back. I used those two pieces as the foundation for the movie.

Baker told varying accounts of events in his life. Did his flexibility with facts serve as an invitation to embellish the story?
That gave us some liberties. It led us to think about memory and truth. And there’s a fallacy inherent in a lot of biopics. They make up characters, events, but they present it as truth. Everybody knows it’s not true. We celebrate the fact that we are inventing and connect that to the spirit of jazz. 

Is it possible for a nonfactual story to somehow be truer than facts?
By not being a slave to all those facts, you sometimes reach a different kind of truth. You’re being true to the spirit of the character and the times, as opposed to “this happened” and “that happened.”

Born to Be Blue is a passion project for Ethan Hawke. He’s received much praise for his performance as Baker.
He came to the project with such knowledge and passion. His performance is amazing. I was blown away during the filming. During the editing process, the options he gave us and the generosity of his performance astounded me. The film was always about this central performance, so I’m really proud that it’s fantastic.  

Hawke speaks lines in the film from the depths of the devastating situation Baker finds himself in. When his career is seemingly over, he says, “I want to play. All I want to do is play! … I want my life back.”
There’s something like a sports narrative in this. The athlete is injured. He has to find his skill again and come back and play against his nemesis. … The comeback story has always appealed to me. It’s a simple, emotional thing that people understand. That framework gave me the confidence to balance the arty and jazzy against the conventional and accessible. The film doesn’t become a niche thing only for jazz aficionados. It crosses over to non-jazz fans. They can get sucked into the story and learn a little about Chet Baker and the struggles of the artist.

Watch the trailer for Born to Be Blue:

Louisiana International Film Festival

WHEN: April 14-17
WHERE: Cinemark Perkins Rowe
ADMISSION: VIP pass $150; all-access pass $125; student pass $50; single screening $10
ONLINE: lifilmfest.org

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