Meeting Edith Piaf

I met Edith Piaf in an unexpected place, SM City Cebu. Do you know her? Actually I don't, but have been listening to her songs all the while and have been a long time fan. I was caught in her feral beauty, drowning in her blue eyes and went home with a heavy heart.

The Arts Council of Cebu Foundation Inc and the Les Amis de la France are once again doing crazy things that make people want for more. La Vie en Rose was their first opening salvo for the 13th French Film Festival and more.

La Vie en Rose. That's how I met Piaf. Whose Piaf? Wait I have to copy a plot summary here to give you and idea. (Copied without permission from www.rottentomatoes.com)

According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to America to the South of France. Abandoned by her mother, Piaf grew up in her grandmother's brothel and her father's circus, which is hardly the fun one might imagine. While singing on the streets of Paris as a teen, Piaf (played as an adult by Marion Cotillard, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) is discovered by club owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), and this chance encounter changes the woman's life. Her powerful voice takes her all over the globe, but it can't guard her from the pain and suffering she can't avoid. As Piaf, Cotillard is mesmerizing. She fully inhabits the singer's ivory skin, crafting a character that never descends into caricature or camp. She lip syncs to Piaf's legendary voice, but the performance is seamless. Like WALK THE LINE and RAY, this biopic creates a fascinating picture of an artist whose songs only begin to reflect the singer's painful life. But director-writer Olivier Dahan (LA VIE PROMISE) doesn't take the traditional biopic route with LA VIE EN ROSE. Instead, the film jumps between various moments in the singer's life, with little concern for linear narrative. Cotillard is just as adept at playing the teenage Piaf as she is the songbird on her deathbed at the age of 47, and it's her amazing performance that makes LA VIE EN ROSE worth seeing.

Consensus: The set design and cinematography are impressive, but the real achievement of La Vie en Rose is Marion Cotillard's mesmerizing, wholly convincing performance as Edith Pilaf.

More activities are coming!

On Saturday, June 21 at Paseo in Mabolo, Fete de la Musique will be happening at the same time in more than 120 countries. This is the first time that this will be held in Cebu. And you should go there because this is a free concert.

The French Film Festival will officially start on June 27 at Onstage, Ayala Center Cebu. This is the schedule provided by the Arts Council of Cebu Foundation.

June 27
1:30 pm - JE CROIS QUE JE L'AIME
3:30 pm - MA VIE EN L'AIR
6:00 pm - CHANGEMENT D'ADRESSE
8:00 pm - CHANSONS D'AMOUR

June 28
1:30 pm - UN BAISER S'IL VOUS PLAIT
3:30 pm - CHANSONS D'AMOUR
6:00 pm - CHANGEMENT D'ADRESSE
8:00 pm - MA VIE EN L'AIR

June 29
3:30 pm - UN BAISER S'IL VOUS PLAIT
6:00 pm - JE CROIS QUE JE L'AIME

Again this is free to the public and on a first-come first-seated basis.

Enjoy and say that in French.