Ma vie en cinémascope

In industry terms this is a biopic; a film about a real person. Alys Robi was Canada’s first enormously popular recording artist. Long before Celine Dion, Alanis Morresette or anyone else you’d like to name. It was a special time. Television had yet to take hold and people still went out to be entertained. The nightclub scene wasn’t so much a scene as a way of life. She began singing when she was five, appearing on stage in her hometown of Quebec City. During the course of a 20-year career, she lived through a series of tumultuous love affairs while at the same time delighting a generation of fans with her music. Hits included songs such as Tico Tico, Chik-a-boum and Besame mucho. She shared the stage with some of the world’s biggest stars. People like Nat King Cole and Jack Benny. She learned how to dance from Sammy Davis Jr. Although her musical career was a triumph, her personal life took a tragic turn. On the brink of achieving stardom in Hollywood, Alys Robi sank into a depression after a disastrous love affair and was put into a Québec City mental hospital. Despite a lobotomy and electric shock treatments, Robi returned to Montréal for a courageous comeback. This film tells a story of happiness and disappointment, of passionate love and thwarted love. Above all, it tells the story of a remarkable woman, a real woman, who led an extraordinary life and career.