This superb Oscar-winning biopic of Edith Piaf stars Marion Cotillard as the French singer who rose from poverty to become a superstar.
Edith's mother, a street singer, left her in the care of her circus performer father. In turn, her father left to fight in the trenches, and Edith was passed to her grandmother, the mistress of a brothel. After her tumultuous childhood, Edith went into street-singing like her mother, until one day Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu) stepped out of a car and whisked her into his club. Edith Piaf the legend was born.
Cotillard (best known for her performance in Un long dimanche de fiançailles) takes on the role of a lifetime as Piaf, and is a revelation as the diminutive singer. Her tale of success and woe extended far beyond her poor childhood, right up to her early death at 47, but director Olivier Dahan handles the story of a beloved French icon delicately and beautifully. Released in 2007, Cotillard took the 2008 Oscar for Best Actress, and the film picked up another Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup.
La Vie En Rose is a Film programme that first aired in 2007 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
