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Let’s face it. It it was not the French hottie Marion Cotillard winning this year’s Academy Award, who would’ve taken notice of this French film named La Vie en Rose (or La Môme as they much more tastefully call it in French). When I watched the DVD I got from Blockbuster with a bunch of friends during a spring break night, half fell asleep at least three times during the entire movie. I am not saying that this is a bad film, only that apart from its ‘crap populaire’ counterparts such as Le Fabuleux Déstin d’Amélie Poulain, this extraordinarily French movie is just not for the American taste buds.

One thing that we have to admit, is that Marion Cotillard is absolutely stunning in this film. Her extraordinary depiction of the legendary French singer Édith Piaf is surely what earned her the little golden statue. The last scene when she sang the unforgettable Non, je ne regrette rien, with flash-backs and the close up shot of Piaf in her death bed pushes this film to the epic of its intensity.

However unfortunately, stunning and tragic it might have been, the tragic last years of Édith Piaf was way too exaggerated - it surely is a great disappointment for a francophile and a dedicated fan of Piaf. Maybe the director Olivier Dahan was just trying to show off a little bit of the make-up art and costumes (which also won an Oscar), or maybe that gives Marion Cotillard more of a leeway to display her wonderful acting across a huge spam of ages. But let’s face it, Édith Piaf has never actually looked like a old Parisian woman who mumbles through everything she says - Marion looks like she was at least eighty in the film when she was stumbling through the doorway into her apartment. Video footages that can be found on youtube or dailymotion of interviews conducted in 1960-1962 suggest that, though she apparently have suffered both mentally and physically from drugs and injuries, she still looks as old as she actually was.

Another downside of the film was the music - which is definitely the greatest thing about it when a French audience (or a francophile who knows enough about her songs) sees this film. Olivier Dahan smartly incorporated around ten most famous song of Édith Piaf into the story - very organically. Like Milord for the Normandie Brothel scenes, and L’hymne à l’amour for the heart-breaking long shot after the death of Marcel Cerdan, not to mention the final performance of Non, Je ne regrette rien. It is true, that most of the songs of Édith Piaf some how reflected her life, but this movie really made Piaf sing the life of herself. But the reason why it will be difficult for most American viewers to appreciate this aspect of the film is the language barrier. I was quite puzzled that the official DVD release didn’t even bother to include the English translation for the songs (they apparently left a French version). Even if those who watched this film in the theatre had it with the subtitles, the rich historic context and the very ‘tasteful little bits’ that hides in the use of words in the very well written lyrics, are likely to be lost in the translation.

But anyways, Marion Cotillard’s performance definately made this film worth seeing. But as compared to many great French films out there (like many Canal+ films) that most people won’t even get to hear about it before it get lost in the movie archives, this film is neither exciting enough to be a blockbuster, nor has a satisfying enough story to make the French and the rest alike appreciate the story.

Finally, there are a few youtube videos for you to enjoy. Amusez-vous.

The Trailer (French Version)

THE La Vie en Rose, 1954,

Padam

Milord (live in US)

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