Hey World,
I just saw La Vie en Rose over the weekend through netflix.com, and it was pretty good. I wanted to see the film for a few reasons. For one thing, I have always been interested in French films and French culture in general, so it was a must-see. Secondly, I have always wanted to know more about Edith Piaf's life. Up until now, I had not known much about Piaf except that she was a very famous French singer. Like whenever people think of all-time popular French singers, Piaf is usually number one. Also, I had first seen the promotions for the film while staying in London last spring, and I couldn't wait to see it once I returned to the States.
The movie basically is a typical biopic of a highs and lows of a singing legend, as portrayed by the wonderful Marion Cotillard as Piaf. The movie arguably not be as interesting if I wasn't as interested in Piaf's life as I already am, but I have learned a few interesting tidbits on Piaf, like:
1. She was not originally French, but of Italian-Algerian descent. That really shocked me because the French have adopted her so much as an icon that I had always assumed that she had a total Gallic heritage.
2. For a time, she was raised by the prostitutes from her grandmother's whorehouse. This was also shocking for me-how hard a life Piaf had lived.
3. Edith Piaf was not her real name. Piaf is a French colloquialism or slang word for "sparrow."
Those were some of the more jarring things that I had learned from the film. It had just amazed me that someone who was so talented had such heartache through her short life. What also amazed me was how Cotillard was able to play a young Piaf and Piaf when she became ill with the arthritis and the liver cancer. I mean, you could also attribute it to the make-up (The film's make-up artists have just won an Oscar for Best Makeup, which is well deserved), which was well done because Cotillard did not look like a young person trying to look sick and old. The make-up was believable. Let us also not forget Cotillard's Oscar-winning performance of the different phases of Piaf's life.
Anywho, I could go on and on, but La Vie En Rose is definitely a must-see.
Monday, March 3, 2008
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