Viva La Vie En Rose

We all know the song, the melody is something we would know even if we didn't know what it was called. I myself never thought of the voice behind the song "La Vie En Rose" just thinking it was just a standard french song sung by many artists. But there was a songstress behind it, a very troubled soul like most bios about singers are but what makes her story different from others is it was a life not full of many inspirational or life affirming moments, it was mostly sad and tragic, but it was a life that was lived with no regrets.

"La Vie En Rose" is about the such life of famous french singer Edith Piaf, someone who had it hard from the very beginning. Edith begins life on the streets, her mother a singer herself sings on street corners for money as her daughter stands by. When Edith's father returns from the war, he finds her abandoned and takes her to local whore house to be looked after. The prostitutes take good care of her and treat her as if she were their own child, but her father returns and takes Edith along with him to the circus where he is a contortionist. Edith and her father don't stay there for very long until he hits the streets with his act and Edith is forced into the spotlight for the first time. Not knowing what to do she starts singing La Marseilles and thus begins her life long singing career.

The film then goes into Edith's humble beginnings where she is supported singing Cabaret's by a wealthy financier (Gerard Depardieu), but when he is soon murdered mysteriously a scandal is surrounded around her and she must start at the beginning again. She is later introduced to singing teacher who trains her and pretty soon she is singing to sold out crowds.

What I know about Edith Piaff is what my friend who I went to the movie with knows. She was a sensation during the second world war where she would tour around the world and seemed to have a very gifted singing voice. She was born the same year as Billie Holliday a singer who's tragic life also parallels Edith's.

The film goes back and forth in what seems to be three different moments in Edith's life: Her early years leading up to her success, her final years of singing where painkillers take hold of her, and then when she becomes an invalid only in her early fifties practically crippled by arthritis.

There are many stunning scenes in the film including the moment where Edith sings for the first time in front of a sold out auditorium and we hold our breath as we watch the audience reaction, then a very inventive use of camera movement done in one shot as Edith learns the death of one of her lovers.

The technical achievements aside the real star of the film is the wonderful french actress Marion Cotillard playing Edith. Catillard makes a wonderful screen presence going through over 30 years of the singer's life, she is completely believable as Edith from the beginning as tom boyish street girl, to the diva like larger than life singer, right to the dying arthritic creature in the end. Unlike some young actors who sometimes lose believability in the later years, Catillard had me riveted to the very end, she should be given an Oscar nomination for sure.

My only slight problem with this otherwise perfect film biography were the songs themselves, I loved them all it was just a shame they were all in french and the subtitles were not there, but I suppose the beauty and the pain of Piaf came through her voice you didn't need to know the words, so scratch that, this was a perfect movie through and through. The story of Edith Piaf is a hard one to take, it's tragic with little moments of happiness, when it came time she could sing no longer, she lost the will to live, I knew nothing of Edith Piaf going into this film, but when I left the theatre I knew her name was a name I would not soon forget.