Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
La Vie en Rose
July 1st 2007 22:44
It's a song written and made famous by Edith Piaf, one of France's most memorable and loved singers. And, tragically, Piaf's life was anything but Pink.
The biopic La Vie en Rose (La Mome in French), featuring Marion Cotilliard as Piaf, is sweeping Europe and North America as a beautiful tribute to a truly original and eccentric figure.
To understand the fascination with Piaf, here's a video of a spine-tingling stage performance of her signature song:
The film traces the life of Piaf, from her childhood in a brothel, to slaving away in a travelling circus.... the story is told, fragmented, non-linearly, and plays out like some fantastic play shown in a dingy underground theatre. Accompanied by Piaf's incredible songs, the film is quite moving - my French friend bawled her eyes out.
To be fair, biopics about musicians are almost self-describing... most influential musicians have a source of tragedy to base their music upon, making the story easily tragic. Movies like The Doors, Walk the Line, or Ray are all in the same vein.
In fact, La Vie en Rose shares a certain similarity with Ray... a poor child, disadvantaged, struggles and climbs out of the shadows from his/her own raw talent, and becomes the stuff of legends. The problem with drugs, the arrogance, it's all there...
The difference is that, in typical Hollywood style, a thick layer of cheese is smeared on over top, artificially inserting a feel-good ending. La Vie en Rose, however, ends tragically, as the life of Edith Piaf really did.
She was an eccentric figure, as the movie is keen to point out, and her life in the brothel created most of her childhood memories, as this performance on the Ed Sullivan show indicates:
The French have a deep connection with Piaf, from her majestic voice to her sorrowful songs, and her eccentricity will always be remembered. Marion Cotilliard does an incredible job of reflecting Piaf down to the last movement, and it's a terrifying performance at times. Tragic till the very last second.
I say: Cathartic and relentless, La Vie en Rose is a fascinating film, complete with a vulgar dialect and mystery.
See it for: This isn't the soft candy of the light French comedy... Piaf has a hard life, and it's a France that's hard to believe.
More live clips of Piaf!
*this image is from the IMDb page on La Mome
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I really want to see this, i just did my coming soon post for July and included the trailer.
Thanks for the review it sounds like they do the legend of Piaf justice.
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Miswanderlust
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I saw it last weekend. I thought the movie to be strange, bleak, but riveting.
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
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