Film Review #8- La Vie en Rose

(I normally call it La Mome, but I can't remember how to get the 'hat' on the 'o')

Just a word of warning before I begin.
I love Edith Piaf.
I love her.
I love her songs.
I love this film.
So I may go a bit crazy at some point.

For those of you who don't know, La Vie en Rose is a "biopic" (I believe that's what they're called) about the life of Edith Piaf. It was made in 2007 and was directed by Olivier Dahan, starring Marion Cotillard as Edith.

I suppose the most interesting thing about this film is that it's not in chronological order, so it doesn't "plod" along. In fact, the first scene is set (I think) in 1959, which was towards the end of her life. For me, this is important because you can connect the older woman to the young child (and, believe me, she changes a lot). The contrast between the young and old Edith, in fact, is so great that it makes the film even more moving. I found the last part of the film particularly sad (both me and mum were blubbing along to the music; even my dad looked a bit upset), when the singer is dying and we are shown a clip of her younger self in the middle of a field, if I remember correctly. Writing this now, it doesn't sound, even to me, particularly upsetting, but it really is when you watch it. 

Another thing I found interesting was Dahan's portrayal of Edith. I've heard (although I'm not sure if this is true or not) that he was not particularly a fan of the singer, and he certainly does not portray her as someone you'd want to be friends with. I think the audience is meant to feel sympathy for the younger Edith, but otherwise, she is not the most amiable of characters. In one scene, for example, she is in a restaurant with some friends, and demands that she is given a gift, either a diamond ring or free champagne. She's also often shown taking drugs, and drinking alcohol regularly. I like that about this film, though. It makes it more real, and if Dahan had wanted to portray her in a positive light, it would be too clichéd in my opinion
 

As I may have mentioned before, we discussed this film at my Monday film course (which is tonight, woopee!). I think the main issue that people had with it was that it completely missed out the war period. I'd never noticed this before, and now that I have, it's really annoying! This would, I think, be my only criticism of an otherwise amazing film. Even though Edith herself wouldn't have been very involved in the Second World War, it was still, obviously, a big part of life then, so I don't understand why Dahan hasn't included it.

Despite that, however, I still think that this film deserves
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Caitlin