Cocomotion

Coco Chanel spent her last breath working on a Sunday, and she was 71 years old, and she remained single all throughout her life. So did the film "Coco Avant Chanel" end with this bit of information.

Should this be the price of being a passionate visionary?

At least the film dwelt on that part of her earlier years when she was torn between two men and she had sex, that's for sure.

Two other local icons quietly entered the theater, still retaining the grace, and the aura of achievement in their lives. Spotted was Margie Moran and Celeste Legaspi. I was comparing the greyness of Celeste's hair to make-up master Jay Lozada's. It seems faux ami to me, in the future tense, how dignified grey hair can look in the future for Jay Lo.

Well, the desire to work nonstop isn't that shocking. We've got advertising icons who retired, but continue to do work. Not that they need the money. Their minds simply refuse to rest.

I am sure maybe, Audrey Tautou will continue acting, too, the way we see a resurrection of Anita Linda, in her twilight years, still getting two lead roles via "Adela" and "Lola."

It was a breather to be finally back in Power Plant, watching a foreign film, after spending much cineaste hours in mainstream Market!Market!

But this generation of mine might not be working that long. We defied the Baby Boomer's post-war industriousness, and we introduced the Work-Life Balance credo as a means to survive and be sane.

The "work to live" rather than "live to work" struggle has been going on since the 1990's. And with internet as common as candy, we've got all the more reasons to spend more time at home, without neglecting on our work responsibilities.

The only thing that will keep us working is the fragile economic world confused as to which model should be followed to recover from Recession. We will work out of necessity, rather than it being the rule of the world. It doesn't make us less ambitious. But it makes us more life-chasers, have it at its most meaningful existence, rather than be part of a factory of humans for others' profits.

I am sure Coco had her fill of sex even if she was unmarried. Fame can be an aphrodisiac to weak or social climbing men. The way Coco had to be a kept woman to rise and finally claim Paris, the city of her dreams.

But she worked on a Sunday. Even God rested on the seventh day. But then again, when you're old and wrinkled, you need to keep busy rather than sulk in nostalgia and memories, and solitude. So, yeah, Coco did right. She just had to keep on going.

What all this commotion about Coco Chanel, now an admired French film, plus Hollywood who won't be left behind by releasing last year's TV version of the fashion icon's life featuring Shirley Maclaine may be saying is this:

We need to look back at a world when it had visionaries, and inventors.

It was a product of passion and a mind not wired and lazily picking up information through Wikipedia. Originality was the key, and cut-and-paste was never an option.

What's fantastic about Coco, was, she never was exposed to haute couture and Parisian culture. She had it in her. She had a vision of women wearing less adorned and less voluminous clothes. It pays to have innate gift and talent. Armed with that, she worked real hard and she ruled the world.

And visionaries will never stop working. The only thing our generation can teach her is, hopefully, they have a life, and keep Sundays free, and reserve it for friends and loved ones, and yes, have time for wine, dine, and great weekend sex.