La Vie En Rose – 2007
Director: Olivier Dahan
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory
Rating: 
It was the 80th Academy Awards… a night I would mark on my calendar and silently bet who’s gonna win after they release the nominations then impatiently force myself not to check the results online so that I can go home and watch the rerun on TV… due to time difference, it airs at around 5:00 am in the morning…
One of last year’s nominees for ‘Actress in a Leading Role’ was Marion Cotillard… an actress I only remember seeing once in Big Fish… a friendly face indeed who had a supporting role in a great movie. However, her nomination was for a leading role in a French language movie called “La Vie En Rose”. It came to my surprise to see the foreign movie getting nominated for more than one award where such kind of motion pictures would be lucky to have the ‘Best Foreign Movie Nomination’ in such a timeless event.
This time, my gut feeling failed me when I virtually gave the award to Kate Blanchett who was a nominee of the same category for her role in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Yet, Forest Whitaker announced: “…and the award goes to… Marion Cotillard”. I was as surprised as she looked when she heard her name but not as cheerful as she and all her fellow nominees felt for it was obvious that they wanted her to win. The role that granted her an Oscar was the embodiment of Edith Piaf… the legendary popular French singer, which to my ignorance, I only knew she sang La Vie En Rose.
One year passed and just before the 81st Academy Awards nominations are released, I saw a preview of the movie on TV and decided that it is a sign that I should watch it… I tried to do so a couple of times but blameless distractions couldn’t let me do so… until I decided one Thursday night to just sit and watch the movie… and there I was, going through the life chapters of this famous singer from childhood to adolescence, and then fame.
The movie caught every bit of my attention and I became more attached as Edith’s life events were passing by…
The movie sequence was made in a very unconventional way not following a basic time line but jumping from one phase to another in a seamless connection that in my view made more sense than it would have if it was traditionally narrated.
When the movie ended, it not only topped my directory list of “Watched Movies” with a Big “A”. But it also introduced me to some enduring personality who engraved fame along a very stumbling road filled with miseries, sorrows, and unfortunate events.
I am ever thankful to Olivier Dahan, the director, for introducing me to a singer I unconsciously knew most of her famous songs and for giving the role to such a talented actress. Marion revived Edith in every sense possible… not like I have the right to evaluate an imitation of a person I never saw… but the divine resemblance between the actress and the singer was quite frightening when I later saw real videos of Edith and the way she moved her body, hands, and lips when she was singing…
I urge every lover of an intense biography, a gifted actress, and “The Little Sparrow” to watch the most amazing portray of such a blend.
One response so far
I never really thought I would find myself saying this but the French are good in movies. They do it with passion. Everything is nicely done from cast to music to shooting.
So imagine if it was a movie about their sweetheart
Must be great.
Add A Comment