LA VIE EN ROSE (Olivier Dahan, 2007) ***

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2008)

I only really became interested in watching this after its recent (and frankly unexpected) Oscar success; on the other hand, I knew of celebrated French singer Edith Piaf but wasn’t familiar with her life-story – so that I couldn’t tell whether certain passages weren’t contrived (notably the decision to make the final tour despite her failing health on the strength of just a cursory listen of “Je Ne Regrette Rien”) or if they truly happened that way!
Incidentally, the film spends much more time on the singer’s troubled life (which seemed to parallel that of Judy Garland – eerily, both died at the same age) than on her career (so that the only reason given for Piaf’s enormous success is that she has “powerful lungs”!)…but, then, this emphasis on sensationalism seems to be the way of modern biopics (making one long for yesteryear’s whitewashed but much more entertaining efforts). Still, the biggest drawback in this respect is that we end up appreciating the actress’ performance (especially coming from a virtual unknown like Marion Cotillard) more than the subject itself, which is certainly not what the film-makers intended!!
We see the singer suffer at the hands of her parents (alcoholic mother and itinerant father), so that she’s raised by her grandmother – in a whorehouse of all places; here, she grows attached to one of the girls (Emmanuelle Seigner) – but, eventually, they’re separated. Later on, she befriends a waif: rather than prostituting herself for a pimp, she gets him money through street-singing – which is how impresario Gerard Depardieu notices her. Not long after, however, the latter is murdered by her pimp but Piaf is picked up by another entrepreneur who takes her under his wing – and, following his arduous voice coaching, she’s on her way to stardom.
Now a household word, she’s also pretty much a society woman (at one point, she’s even visited by Marlene Dietrich!) – which is how Piaf (by the way, a stagename given her by Depardieu) meets and falls for boxing champ Marcel Cerdan. Their relationship is complicated by his being already married – one night, craving to see him, she pleads that he leave his family to go by her side but is killed when the plane he boards crashes on the way! Considering him the love of her life (despite being married herself and also numbering among her lovers – though he’s never seen in the film and mentioned only in passing – iconic singer/actor Yves Montand, whom she discovered in the first place), she gradually falls apart. The situation isn’t helped by Piaf’s crippling arthritis – or, for that matter, her dependence on morphine (the direct result of her misguided attempt to fight that very condition) – all of which gives her a shocking appearance much older than her age!
Apart from the superb leading performance and equally convincing make-up (both deserving Oscar winners), the film is carefully made in the best French tradition i.e. a product which is often pleasing to the eye, the ear and the mind. By the way, this is a rare case in which a foreign movie was released in English-speaking countries under a different title but still in its original language (here, it’s the name of Piaf’s most popular song); that said, I do know of a couple of American pictures released in Italy with English monikers – namely HARPER (1966), which became DETECTIVE’S STORY, and BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), which was changed to GANGSTER STORY (both curious retitlings…since they’d already been taken in the U.S.!).