IMDb > La vie en rose (2007)
La môme
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La vie en rose (2007) More at IMDbPro »La môme (original title)

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La vie en rose -- The life story of singer Edith Piaf.
La vie en rose -- The life story of legendary French singer Edith Piaf, starring Marion Cotillard.
La vie en rose -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash) (French, English)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   21,287 votes »
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Down 15% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Olivier Dahan (writer)
Isabelle Sobelman (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for La vie en rose on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 February 2007 (Belgium) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
The extraordinary life of Edith Piaf See more »
Plot:
The life story of singer Édith Piaf. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 33 nominations See more »
User Reviews:
I'm coming to the conclusion that this is the best biopic I have ever seen See more (199 total) »

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"La môme" - France (original title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, sexual content, brief nudity, language and thematic elements. (also extended edition)
Runtime:
140 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
To help portray Edith Piaf, Marion Cotillard shaved back her hairline and shaved off her eyebrows, which were later penciled in, to better resemble the singer.See more »
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The caption that opens the Édith/Marcel Cerdan portion, which includes his fight, says "1947". Cerdan fought Tony Zale on 21 September 1948.See more »
Quotes:
Edith Piaf:I can't? Then what's the point of being Edith Piaf?See more »
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Les Mômes de La ClocheSee more »

FAQ

What song was Titine singing when giving Édith a bath?
From what did Édith Piaf actually die?
Did Marion Cotillard do her own singing?
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173 out of 192 people found the following review useful.
I'm coming to the conclusion that this is the best biopic I have ever seen, 28 March 2007
Author: Flagrant-Baronessa from Sweden

It is difficult to overstate the necessary calibre of a woman who was raised in a filthy whorehouse, sung and slept on the street, travelled with the circus, lost her child at 20, went blind for a time, was wrongly accused of murder, struggled with a drug addiction and lost other loved ones by the bucketload in her life, and still got up on stage at the end of her life to sing "Je ne regrette rien". La Môme documents each stage of Edith Piaf's life with creative direction and an intense performance by its lead actress, Martion Cotillard.

Ultimately it is a film that curiously enough does not come down to acting or story so much as it owes everything to its direction by Olivier Dahan. Audiences have been divided thus far on his efforts as they are somewhat unorthodox, but I believe he has truly done something magical with what could have fallen prey to a by-the-numbers biopic approach. In La Môme, the continuity is clipped and fragmentary at several points in the film, with scene 2 melting into scene 1 as opposed to vice versa. The story of Edith seems to fledge itself around two or three story lines simultaneously – her youth, her adulthood and her last days.

Marion Cotillard, a personal favourite of mine, is perfect at each of the aforementioned stages, having met the wonders of realistic make-up but also clearly having connected with the character of Edith Piaf. As a young singer she is fumbling and bird-like, but always with raw intensity behind her performance. As an old lady (although from what I understand she was never truly that old at the time of her death) she has transformed into something else – a kind of loud, hysterical diva who is alternatively self-depreciative and overbearing, her youthful humility having been quenched by years of alcohol abuse and her bird-like body and gait having been crippled by rheumatism. Only once does Cotillard vaguely emerge from her character, and it is toward the end when Edith is sitting on a beach in California giving an interview. The rest of the film she is wholly chameleon-like and indistinguishable from la môme.

Certainly this type of tragicomic drama with all of its poverty-stricken episodes and heart-rending tragedies is primed to elicit an emotional response, but Dahan goes the extra mile in polishing the story for audiences. It truly is a beautiful work of art, coated with sweeping tracking shots á la Paul Thomas Anderson or Martin Scorsese blended with shakycam to capture the fast, fickle pace of the business, endlessly creative intercutting of continuity and breathtaking scenes after another. When Piaf's beautiful hands have been noted, a muted performance is given in which the camera only focuses on her theatrics and hand gestures. Yet the best scene takes place in Piaf's apartment some 2/3s into the film in which she is waiting for her lover Marcel to fly in from Morocco. I shall give no spoilers. The film is momentarily gray and depressing, only to jerk the audience away from the misery and lose itself in a blossom-strewn pictorial style whenever Piaf goes on stage.

La Môme is a one-woman-show in all respects, with Cotillard shamelessly relegating every other cast member to the background with her emotional intensity. But in all fairness supporting characters are not given much screen time in the film, seemingly floating away from the central story eventually, or dying in some tragedy, illustrating the lonely life of its titular singer. La Môme needs to be seen to be believed, for it unexpectedly floors all other musical biopics of recent years – or indeed ever.

9 out of 10

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for La vie en rose (2007)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
When did the film's title change? betweennowandthen
The best performance I have EVER seen... ehab-ellian_wl
The Top 100 performances of all time dinasztie13
So am I the only one that thought she looked like Edward Scissorhands? stpetelawyer
Did Edith Piaf have such a bad attitude? RoseFleming
Who played Louis Dupont in the ending? casperr
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