[LSVIXEN] Media Review: Vixen's Choice for LS Movie of the Year goes to C'est La Vie (2023)

[Al-Malikah]

 

 

 

 

 

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TRANSPARENCY NOTE:  Hey babes, I know it's a gossip and review rag but I think transparency is super important for your media consumption diet and historically many outlets don't seem to understand the value in being up front with your audience.

For full transparency, I, Delia Celeste Urbana=Champaign am technically on Vinewood Pictures list of potential actors. I've never held a role with them yet. That said, I have not been paid to review this and I will maintain objectivity in this review. I respect my audience which is why you'll see these notices at the top of any article where it may be needed. Love you guys, stay cute and stay hot.

 

Media Review: Vixen's Choice for LS Movie of the Year goes to C'est La Vie (2023)

 

(Title Sequence from 'C'est La Vie')

 

Hey there besties, so guess what? I was invited to a Movie Premiere for Vinewood Pictures latest release entitled C'est La Vie (2023)! So I slapped on some pearls, slipped into a cute 1920's silver screen look, and brought my trusty notepad to get you the tea on the latest piece of media to hit Vinewood. It goes without saying that Los Santos was once the movie capital of the world. You can see it's rippling effects from the 50's forward as the culture bomb that was the burgeoning motion picture scene influenced media all around the world. Since then. plenty of other cities across our big ole' world have cropped up their own studios with their own razzle-dazzle and Vinewood's been resting on their laurels.

 

Until now.

 

If C'est La Vie (2023) is any indication of future output from Vinewood Pictures, it may mark the big flash we've been waiting for in terms of the resurgence of the Los Santos Film Production glory. That's enough of me rambling. Let's get to why I've chosen this film as my Los Santos Movie of the Year for 2023 

 

 

 

 

(The Movie Premiere crowd in it's glory, getting settled in for the film.)

 

The Premiere! 😺

 

The Altitude Cinema hummed with excitement as throngs of movie-goers entered to watch the premiere of C'est La Vie. Spotted among the crowd were Newsqueen Carry Saunders, Supermodel Giorgia Polchi, Elder God Dorothy Bagshaw, and many other handsome mugs lining the seats. The premiere audience seemed hungry for something.... anything from the long quiet movie production scene. Couples nustled into eachothers arms, people watched with rapt attention,  and a hush was cast on the theater while the crowd took in the melancholic life of Robert (Markus Fiskum) which unveiled itself on the screen. 
 

 

(Robert played by Markus Fiskum and his brother Luca played by Mitchell Holt share a grounding scene in the cemetary.)

 

The Characters ARE the Plot! 🔮

 

When I first heard of the title, my mind drifted to languid black-and-white French art films where a woman would maybe smoke a cigarette, maybe burn it onto her arm expressionlessly, and then say something miserably poetic in French before an hour of uninterrupted weeping. I am blessed and honored to say this is not a French art film. While the plot does ring deeply sad at points, the plot moves in an arc that has a glimmer and shine of hope throughout the course of it. As you'll see later in my coverage of the Vinewood Pictures Q&A that followed the film, Director Markus Fiskum has a direct and punchy goal with the production of the plot of this film and it's my opinion that it was executed effectively.

 

The characters themselves form the fabric of this story. Robert's sorrow seems all-encompassing in the beginning and Luca's exasperation and frustration with his brother punches through the fog of his sorrow with resounding lines. Piercing. Startling. Jarring. Enough to wake an audience out of what might have become a sense of complacency. Mitchell Holt brings fire and passion to the role of Luca that can't be fabricated by merely going through the motions. It's clear that these men have lived through the often terminal pull of receding from life and its varied experiences and have time and time again pulled one another out. 

 

(The moodyness brings the sadgrrl part of my heart so much joy.)

 

Vixen's Hightlights! 💋

 

While the performances are simultaneously heart-breaking and heart-warming, I have to say that according to my own personal taste, it is the moodyness of the lingering shots throughout the film stand out to me the most. I know I can be a mega-bitch on this blog and that is a fact that does not escape me, dear readers. In truth, I'm as sentimental as the next girly. I love to taste joy, love, passion, and even sorrow. The lingering shots of the city served to create a sense of connection between the personal struggle of Robert with the struggles of thousands who live their lives each day in the same isolated numbness. The lingering sequences of him plugging away at his eternal passion project while segmenting himself from the rest of the world served well to force the viewer to think of how they might be doing the same thing, every single day.

 

It's rare when art can actually make us feel, but I think it's rarer still when art forces us to reflect on our own lives. 

It's for that sole reason I was so willing to make C'est La Vie, my choice for Los Santos Movie of the Year for 2023. 

 

 

(A Standing Ovation (Above) and the Cast Q&A hosted by Alicia Johansson (Right))

 

 The Q&A! 💋

 

The credits rolled and people dried their tears. As people began to leap up, the emotionally stirred crowd became a standing ovation and rung out shouts of support for the cast and crew who took the stage for a live Q&A.

 

Below is the full transcript of what was asked and how it was answered: 

 

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Markus Fiskum: Thank you guys so much for being such a lovely audience, make sure to stick around for a Q and A, and every question you've got, don't be afraid to ask! Ah, yes we have a question! Please, miss.

LS Vixen: Fischer dived into the wacky antics of Los Santos, C'est La Vie explores defeating escapism by taking a helping hand when offered. Such a shift, a powerful one. Do you see it as a major theme touching the city? The world?

Markus Fiskum: Well, yeah I do actually! I think at times, there's this - lonely aura over Los Santos, where things can appear very quiet and eerie. And I do feel that Fischer also, kinda plays into that, you know? And C'est La Vie, especially when you film Los Santos at night, it can be very isolated and empty, yet so full of life.

Alicia Johansson: So the next question was, what's the next project?

Markus Fiskum: As for the next project, we don't know yet, uhh... We've started on Fischer, as some of you have seen but we're not going to be getting around to that until way into next year at the very least, but, Vinewood Pictures is working on stuff that you'll be seeing more of in the future.

A man from the crowd: Is there a longer version? Like lets say... Two hours long?

Mitchell Holt:  I guess he liked it eh Markus?

A man from the crowd: Yeah!

Alicia Johansson: So the question was if there's a longer version of the film.

Markus Fiskum: Uhhh at the moment, no there's no director's cut, and I don't think it ever will either, because this thing is such a character study, and dragging that out to a two hours could quickly fall flat, in my opinion anyway. So to answer your question, no. There's no longer director's no.

A man from the crowd: How long did it take you guys to make this premiere?

Markus Fiskum: From pre-production? Or?

A man from the crowd: Everything.

Markus Fiskum: Alright so we started on this film, late in November, and it was a side thing while we were sorting out things with Fischer.

Alicia Johansson: We have another question in the front here.

LS Vixen: The lingering establishing shots of his apartment and the city stuck with me, mixed with the score. It makes Los Santos and the four walls of his apartment a character itself... how would you describe its impact on Robert... What's the.intended force of emotional impact for the viewer?

Markus Fiskum: The intended force of the emotional impact, the way I see it is. C'est La Vie is a story about letting your life pass you by and, It really resonates to me this idea of. You have one life, you know, and spending it either shooting dope or sitting in front of a computer, which is the metaphor here... Is kinda a waste, the way I see it. I think that there's way more to life than these little dopamine spikes we get from, say entertainment or, you know, things that aren't originally meant to consume your entire soul, you know?

Markus Fiskum: So I think, when it comes to making the character lonely, it's so that we really can isolate the experience and really almost see it from this perspective of just. Not realizing that there's a problem, you know? Or at least not doing anything about it. I think we can all relate to this to an extent, either from ourselves, or from people in our lives you know?

Mitchell Holt: We'd love to see this movie reach people around the city and the county, in case it wakes up a few individuals, makin' 'em more aware of their surroundings. Their everyday life and how much as Markus said these dopamine spikes affect their lives, they either ignore school or their jobs because of it.

Mitchell Holt: The core idea was that, and for it to find the right audience. That's what I wanted to add, yes, and I think we got another question 'ere.

Markus Fiskum: Hey Dotty!
Mitchell Holt: Ah Dorothy! Please, what's the question?

Elder God Dorothy Bagshaw: Yes hello, dears! Sorry but I'm afraid this isn't a question. I just wanted to say that your film was BEAUTIFUL an made an ol' gal cry! I just would like you both to pat yourselves on the back for such a wonderful job, dearies!

Markus Fiskum: Thank you Dotty, we're very glad you enjoyed it!

Mitchell Holt: Appreciate it Dotters!

Alicia Johansson: Thank you dear. Do we have any more questions?

 

Felix Brown: Did you take any personal inspiration in writing the film?

Markus Fiskum: Yes! I did actually! So, for me this is a very personal story, that basically was the case for me before I moved to L.S, so this was around 2019. 

Mitchell Holt: Well it's kinda inspired by the relationship between me an' Markus t'ehehe. Sorry Markus, go on.

Markus Fiskum: And yeah, I had a moment in my life where I was just throwing away a lot of time you know and not really valuing what I had around me. And I just let life pass me by, if I was to look back at 2019 I don't think I really have much to say about it, it's like a blur, no memories, nothing experienced you know. So in hindsight you can regret that but, it's also the reason C'est La Vie has a life now.

Mitchell Holt:  Yeah it was kinda the same for me and Markus back in that period from 2018 to 2019. We both let our jobs devour our time, and we completely sinked deeply into it, not bein' aware of people or stuff goin' on aroun' us. That's why it's important for y'all to share this experience with loved ones and your friends, if you know someone that is deep down in this... offer them a way out just like Luca did to Robert. Like I did to Markus, and he did to me.

Markus Fiskum: Also guys don't be afraid to ask anything, there's no dumb questions. We're very forgiving like that.

Alicia Johansson: I'll throw one in while people think about their next question.

Alicia Johansson: You guys worked together before on Fischer. What was it like to work together on something that was, from what I can see, nothing like what we saw in Fischer?

Markus Fiskum: So, uh, Fischer was a comedy, even though comedy also often delves into tragedy a lot of the time. This was a very different experience for us. Working on a sitcom, we were always changing things because it's not easy to do comedy, uhhm... But with C'est La Vie, we had to really stick to the page. And really trust the story that was there at its foundation, it's a very heavy film, and the preparation and the state you had to put yourself in was very different.

Markus Fiskum: But I think Mitch, as comedically gifted as he is, translated well into drama. The chemistry was there, but the way we went about it was different, yup.  What was it like for you Mitch?

Mitchell Holt: Well I gotta say man... lookin' back at it it was way harder for me on the Fischer set than C'est la Vie. Because as goofy and comedic it was and it matches my person, it was really hard to execute and think of different stuff people would find funny. But with C'est La Vie it was much easier, I connected with the plot, with the character of helping his brother out... it all connected real well.  So I did in fact have it easier on this one! And workin' alongside you was a pleasure and I congratulate US on this and I wanna thank every single one of these folks for supporting us!

Markus Fiskum: Yeah you've been a great audience and we couldn't have done this without you, so thank you for that!

Alicia Johansson: Alright. Thank you very much Markus and Mitch!

 

That's enough of hearing from the movie nerds, let's hear from an audience member!

 

 The Audience Flash Reaction! 💋

 

 

               

(Former Model, Current Stunner, Felix Brown)

 

I decided to ask a random movie-goer exactly how they felt leaving the theater after watching C'est La Vie to get a more objective hot-take! This was his take!

 

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LS Vixen: You've come out of the world premiere of C'est La Vie. Give the Vixen your flash-react? WHat are you feeling leaving the theatre?

 

Felix Brown: I'm feeling emotional...guilty even. The film had a deep message and you can't help but to leave it feeling a little introspective on how you've been spending your time.

LS Vixen: Would you recommend it to the readers?

Felix Brown: Yes, of course. It's a great film. Great music, great cinematography.
 

 

 

 

(Vinewood Pictures Logo)

             

ALL IN ALL

 

And there you have it folks, everything you need to know about both the world premiere of C'est La Vie (2023) and the details into the crack hit this movie is destined to become. Between performances and cinematography that stirs the heart and a message that hits home for audiences no matter where they come from and what their struggle looks like, C'est la Vie (2023) hits the pitch and won my heart.

 

If you'd like to watch the film yourself, check local theater listings and check their Face browser page here to gain all the latest updates.

XOXO,

 

DISCLAIMER

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LS Vixen's (bitch ass) Disclaimer
 

The LS Vixen is a satire, parody, commentary, critique, news reporting and scholarly web publication, which may or may not use actual names often in quasi-real and/or fictitious narration. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental, except for all references to politicians, celebrities and/or other personalities that are critiqued and/or commented upon, in which case they are based on real people, but still based almost entirely in fiction.

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Edited December 18, 2023 by Al-Malikah

[Waldur]

Username: Panorama666
Comment: Sad I missed it. Great article. Great movie.