| I recently found a few 'vintage' French CDs on a trip to France. Yet,I'm so musically uninformed that I didn’t even know to whom I had been listening until after I saw this movie. So enthralled by the film, I rushed home not only to play the music, but to confirm the artist.
Most “biopics” are of interest only to fans of the subject. This film,though,should be seen by everyone interested in film or acting. The actress, Marion Cotillard, overwhelms the music, the history and even the biography of Edith Piaf. Her performance is a once in a lifetime masterpiece. I will never again hear an Edith Piaf song – or any French music for that matter – without recalling her performance. Few American or Foreign actors have left such an indelible mark on a film. While 2007 may yield a better foreign film, it will not produce a better actress in a foreign film.
| Edith Piaf. Remember her from the 1940’s and 1950’s. This is her life story. And what a story it was. Director and writer Oliver Duhan has successfully jumped back and forth between her early, middle and late years. From rags to riches, from naivety to sophistication, from loveless to much loved, she experienced it all. But the most amazing part of this film is the portrayal of Edith by Marion Cotillard. Cotillard’s on screen presence is just so perfect she has literally become Piaf. All but four of the songs are from original recordings so the music is fabulous. See it in the theatre where there is wonderful surround sound. A bit overlong, you will still be blown away.
Directed by: Oliver Duhan
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