A Film Review...

...I went to the cinema all my own last night to see La Vie En Rose... I loved it and it gave me lots of good reasons to smile... its a film about the life of Edith Piaf, who was at one time the most highly paid perfomer in France at least...I don't know about the rest of europe or the world... My only criticism is that, like a lot of films about real lives, this film is sometimes difficult to follow in terms of details of Edith Piafs life, which leads me to think that it is relying on an audience already being fans of the singer and knowing her life story... It wasn't always clear to me exactly who each supporting character was, and there was no background given as to where they came from or how she met each person.The Real Edith Piaf

However, not knowing anything about her initially doesn't detract from the film itself. While her life was tragic in many ways, the film and the actress playing her, captured an amazing excitement about life, extremes and depth of emotion and a fiestiness which I admire so much. As a child she is neglected by her hopeless parents, (although her father is redeemed partially later on), and is left by her father to live in her grandmothers brothel, loved maternally by the prostitutes while witnessing what the women do for a livng is a deeply influential experience that could be said to affect her for the whole of her life. It's not a cheerful film but it still holds onto a humanity that made me laugh. When she's older the film conveys the reality of her character without making any apologies for it. She's is rightfully a symbol of hope, emerging from the turbulence of the first half of the 20th century, and more personally from her own numerous devastating heartbreaks. I recommend seeing this film because it lifted me up and also made me cry, and any film that takes you on that kind of journey is worth a go.

Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf

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