 |
Product Search
|
 |
|
Article Search
|
|
|
Resources
| |
|
Home > Movie Review - Tape (2001)
We Have Found 3 Products for your search of Movie Review - Tape (2001).
Displaying Items 1 - 3:
La Vie en Rose Movie Review
by Fred Thom
There are very few things that can be quite as grating as the voice of Edith Piaf. Her work has always managed to crawl right up onto my nerves and take a gentle seat, twisting me in my seat. The fact that La Vie En Rose was still an incredibly likable film, speaks volumes to the success of a director whose only job was to make a film about the life and times of Edith Piaf.
Olivier Dahan, a director who has in the past displayed a great deal of quality film making ability right alongside the atrocious capability of making a film like Crimson Rivers 2, does something quite astounding with this film. First off, he doesn't like Piaf much either. You might wonder how a man who does not like the subject of his film could make a biopic about her life. The answer is actually quite ingenious, because so many films that revolve around the life story of a singer or actress fall into the trap of hailing that star as an idol of entertainment. They become too enthralled by their subjects and fall in love with their own film making techniques, ultimately failing.
In Dahan's film, we see what must have been the real Piaf, a drunk and egotistic woman with a series of horrible events in her childhood. Her voice saves her from the fate of so many other similar cases. As a child, she spent years in the streets, falling victim to a horrific childhood. Those very years molded her into a harsh, unlikable adult, the kind that Dahan doesn't try in any way to redeem with his film.
Dahan's Piaf takes from those closest to her, not writing her own songs, throwing her friends into the mud, and playing every bit the pompous diva starlet. Her life is built on oppositions - the harshness of her childhood alongside the liberties and fame of her adult stardom. Dahan's Piaf symbolizes everything that is Paris and for that reason alone, Dahan's film will have amazing crossover appeal. To compare the effects of La Vie en Rose to Amelie, Piaf's life story is more effective because it shows the effects of a living being's whims over an entire city.
Unfortunately, Dahan takes a few liberties in editing down Piaf's life story. He skips over the occupation of Paris, her tryst with Yves Montand, and her child. While Dahan can claim all he wants that he did not need these events for his "vision" of her life, the viewer (especially those unfamiliar with her life) would want to know more.
The film itself is wonderful crafted, alternating between harsh and then wide-eyed youth and her final days. Dahan uses the grainy footage of the era, washing out his film, keeping the film subtle and realistic instead of falling into the trap of portraying Piaf as she was portrayed in her time - as a star. And Marion Cotillard's masterful performance as Piaf is probably the highlight of the film. She gives so much of herself over to the role that you can't help but feel she has become Piaf. However you feel about Piaf as an artist and a person, Dahan's portrait of her life is a masterful representation of how to tell the story of someone's life.
About the Author
Fred Thom is the editor-in-chief of plume-noire.com/plume.html an L.A. based international magazine specialized in Foreign films and film festivals. Visit plume-noire.com/plume.html for more foreign film reviews and film festival coverages.
Duplicity Movie Trailer & Review 2009 HD
http://TrailerHits.com is the first show to review movie trailers. Is 'Duplicity' a Trailer Hit or a Trailer Miss?
Plot:
A pair of corporate spies who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses.
|
|
