La Vie en Rose (2007)

Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.

Director:

Olivier Dahan

Writers:

Isabelle Sobelman, Olivier Dahan

Stars:

Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory

Won 2 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 61 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marion Cotillard	...	Edith Piaf
Sylvie Testud	...	Mômone
Pascal Greggory	...	Louis Barrier
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Titine
Jean-Paul Rouve	...	Louis Gassion
Gérard Depardieu	...	Louis Leplée
Clotilde Courau	...	Anetta
Jean-Pierre Martins	...	Marcel Cerdan
Catherine Allégret	...	Louise
Marc Barbé	...	Raymond Asso
Caroline Silhol	...	Marlene Dietrich
Manon Chevallier	...	Edith - 5 years old
Pauline Burlet	...	Edith - 10 years old
Élisabeth Commelin	...	Danielle Bonel (as Elisabeth Commelin)
Marc Gannot	...	Marc Bonel

Storyline

An un-chronological look at the life of the Little Sparrow, Édith Piaf (1915-1963). Her mother is an alcoholic street singer, her father a circus performer, her paternal grandmother a madam. During childhood she lives with each of them. At 20, she's a street singer discovered by a club owner who's soon murdered, coached by a musician who brings her to concert halls, and then quickly famous. Constant companions are alcohol and heartache. The tragedies of her love affair with Marcel Cerdan and the death of her only child belie the words of one of her signature songs, "Non, je ne regrette rien." The back and forth nature of the narrative suggests the patterns of memory and association.

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Plot Keywords:

female singer | title based on song | based on true story | singer | singing | 

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Taglines:

The passionate life of Edith Piaf

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, sexual content, brief nudity, language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

France UK Czech Republic

Language:

French English

Release Date:

20 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Vie en Rose

Filming Locations:

Brasserie Julien, 16 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, Paris 10, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£205,659 (United Kingdom), 22 June 2007, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$179,848, 10 June 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$10,301,706

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$88,613,761

Company Credits

Production Co:

Légende Films, TF1 International, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Olivier Dahan wrote the script with Marion Cotillard in mind as Édith Piaf before he had even met her, because he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes.

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Goofs

During Edith's first date with Marcel, a sommelier comes from Marcel's right. Marcel tastes the wine, looks to his left, and tells the waiter that the wine is OK.

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Quotes

Edith Piaf: In three months... that's right, in April, I'll be a hit at the Olympic. With a full house, we'll be flush.
Louise: Edith, your liver cells are not functioning normally. You've been ill. You need rest. It's serious.
Edith Piaf: I'm just 44. I'm not in the tomb yet.

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Connections

Referenced in Inception (2010)

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Soundtracks

Du Gris
Music by Ferdinand-Louis Bénech
Lyrics by Ernest Dumont
Performed by Jil Aigrot

User Reviews

This movie...it's a poem about a poet...

...a song about a singer.

I adore it. Nothing else is there to be said, really. The acting, all round, is sensational, but the lead, Marion Cotillard's portrayal of Edith Piaf, is beyond words. More astonishing even, I'd dare to say, than what Bruno Ganz did with Adolf Hitler in Der Untergang (although Ganz had only a mass murderer and historical criminal to work with, while Cotillard was dealing with, pardon me for saying, the soul of an entire nation).

I would like to comment on the script. The little symbolic moments, full of grief, full of such a profound sadness...I have never seen this done so well. Certain elements of the story, a conversation or object, are only within the lasting of the film transformed from everyday, mundane stuff into everlasting symbols of affection, of redemption and personal torment.

You see, this is the strong point of the film - it tries to(and often it manages) make you cry because of her tough life, but at the end you are crying because of the good things that happened to her. They too, are over: Edith never even regrets the bad ones.

The music is a whole story on its own. I've loved Piaf for some years now, but, alas, I don't speak French, and now, at last, I have some context to place the songs into...and it breaks me. It really does.

I saw the movie yesterday, went home, and listened to Edith's albums for hours, and they meant so much...they spoke volumes.

Anyway, the direction is perfect, although there is one scene towards the end which has problems - it tells, for the very first time, of a rather important event in the much earlier years of the singer's life , and the event in question seems to be out of place, sort of neglected - as if it should have been dealt with an hour earlier. But this is only one tiny scene, and even it, in itself, is masterfully done. Everything else is flawless.

The cuts and the singing are blended brilliantly together. I was especially struck, which is strange, by the end credits: they are very unusual and touching for a movie which is this musical (find out why!).

Anyway, my deepest recommendations. See it, it is really excellent. It is dark and human and bright, and full of spectacular music.

It is the 20th century.

I fell in love with it.

You might too.