I saw the Edith Piaf movie, La vie en Rose. (Yes, another French movie. It’s not like we will only see French movies. It just so happens that whenever we scan the listings, the most interesting movie happens to be the French one. I mean, look at what is out now: The Waitress. Ocean’s 13. Once. Who wouldn’t choose the critically-acclaimed Edith Piaf bio over a date movie about a waitress who channels her emotions into pie-making?)
I liked La vie en Rose. I don’t feel like writing a formal review of it, but if I did, I’d give it two Green Thumbs (out of a possible three) and call it mind-blowingly entertaining, funny, sad, emotional, and dramatic. Too dramatic, in fact. I can’t count how many times Edith collapsed into sobbing hysteria, crying someone’s name: Titine! Momone! Papa Leplee! Marcel! Marcel!
Anyway, today I spent some time watching YouTube videos of Edith Piaf herself performing. Most of the videos are from her later years, in the late 1950s, when her myriad health problems and chemical dependencies had taken a toll, but the videos are haunting all the same. I like her performance of “Milord” on the Ed Sullivan show in particular. Some would call her one of France’s greatest singers. I would call her France’s only great singer.
