At Tampa Theatre: No Regrets for Edith Piaf Movie

The recent demise of Sunrise Theaters in Hyde Park was a huge loss for lovers of foreign and independent films, with the venerable Tampa Theatre the lone remaining full-time Tampa outlet for both film genres.
While Channelside and AMC Veterans 24 have tried to pick up some slack, they rarely feature foreign films and their independent film selection is unpredictable and inconsistent. Foreign films generally play big in cultural hotbeds like New York, Los Angeles and Miami, but any foreign/independent film that even makes it to Tampa doesn't play long and usually doesn't perform as well.
So I jumped at the chance last night when Tampa Theatre featured "La Vie en Rose" (playing through July 19th), a searing, biographical drama based on the early 20th-century French singer Edith Piaf.
The movie chronicles her life from her early childhood in the brothels and streets of France to her major concerts and love affairs in Paris and in New York. Years ago, I discovered Piaf's melodic yet hauntic music through downloading on Napster and Limewire, but never really knew what the French lyrics meant (I like downloading strange foreign music just for the experience, obviously not for the lyrics). Besides the incredible acting by actress Marion Cotillard (she consumed this role), this film brought to life the events and unfortunate illnesses and events behind her lyrics, which were also brought to life in powerful concert and recording scenes via subtitles (the movie is in French).
Of some the recent musical biographies that I've seen (Ray Charles and Johnny Cash come to mind), this movie was the most imaginative, bending the reality of the movie from Piaf's viewpoint, or in many cases, lunacy. I hope Cotillard wins an Oscar nomination for her performance, she was incredible.
The tragedies hit Piaf all through her life and you see how she learned to use the ascent of her musical career to escape the harsh realities of her life. One of the movie's best scenes is when she learns her lover has died in a plane crash and she literally lives a room in mourning to walk on stage to an adoring crowd.
I love movies with a great story to tell, and this is even better because of the power of Piaf's music. One of Piaf's most famous songs, "Non, je ne regrette rien" (No Regrets) was sung in a concert last-wish concert as she was already dying. The music and the poignancy of the moment in front of a sold-out crowd brings this movie to a powerful and poignant crescendo.