the movieGOOMBA

3 GOOMBAS

My first experience with French film was Ma Vie En Rose, a movie I had to watch for a gender in culture class, and I must say that I was quite surprised by it's flair. And every French film thus far had been the same, so what a drastic change it was to watch La Vie En Rose, a drab and simple film on the life of Edit Paif.

A biography of the famous 1940s French singer, La Vie En Rose (The Life in Pink) stars Marion Cotillard who won an Academy Award for her performance. At an early age, Edith Paif was left in a brothel to be raised by prostitutes and learns of her talent for song; already strange. As she matures, she begins signing on the streets of France and is soon discovered. After she makes her debut in a modest, but packed bar, the crowd's enthusiasm for her singing ensures her lengthy career in show business. As her success sky-rockets her to the top, her personal life and health become victim to her scrappy and lush lifestyle.

Unrefined and rough, Edith Paif fit my imagined impression of Lucille Ball in real life. She was bossy, fierce, stubborn, and crazy about man who had eyes for more than one. Now, to portray a character with so much personality is a feat unto itself. But have you seen Marion Cotillard as he real self? She seems sweet and delicate, yet even her body language was drastic transformation from her slink down the red carpet. This was truly a remarkable performance.

However, other than this artistic achievement and the believable make up and costume, this movie was pretty boring. Yes, Edith Paif was quite a woman, but Man, could I not wait for this movie to end. It was dark and uncharacteristically French, with its non-hallucinogenic style, and you couldn't wait to get to the subtle climax that is distinctive in biographical films (kind of like a climax in a documentary).

I love to sound cool when I say I've watched a foreign film that no one's really heard about. Sadly, I don't know if I'd actually recommend this film, and sadly I'm not cool either. But I would watch it if you're hip, stylish, live in the Village and just want to brag on your artistic sophistication.