good evening! last week i was so lucky to attend an advanced screening of la vie en rose – a new biopic about famed french singer edith piaf (1915 – 1963) at one point the legendary marlene dietrich told edith her voice was ‘the soul of paris’ and she was right! i’ll be 100% honest that i didn’t know all that much about her but now i’m totally obsessed! (she was like the french judy garland but even better!) she had such an interesting but super sad & tragic life from the start (you must read her bio) being passed around when she was a kid – living off the streets – singing for money until one day she was discovered and initially was nicknamed ‘the little sparrow’ (piaf is french slang for small bird) poor thing also lost the great love of her life (who was married) to a plane crash – plus she was in a car accident which led to her crippling addiction to morphine but gosh she was a trooper right up to the end – a real character that no one even comes close to today – they certainly don’t make stars like they used too! (she was even involved in the french resistance – girlfriend was way cool!)
the film was excellent – a beautifully told story directed by olivier dahan – which jumps around to different points in edith’s life giving us glimpses & insights into her incredible story – this is not your typical biopic – by the end i was ready to jump out of my seat – i was blown away – even having a mini emotional breakdown in my car when i left the theater – her whole story moved me so much – everyone know popbytes loves the messy ones! (you must watch this video of the ‘real’ edith singing ‘non je ne regrette rien’ aka ‘no regrets’) the actress who plays ms. piaf marion cotillard was mesmerizing & astonishing – oh my word! if she doesn’t at least get nominated for an oscar i would be shocked! i couldn’t keep my eyes off her – she nailed the part – it was almost eerie! of course no one could sing the vocals (if attempted that would’ve been a travesty!) original piaf tracks were remastered for the film (i just bought the soundtrack on itunes!) ms. cotillard did an incredible job ‘performing’ as edith! i really couldn’t recommend this film anymore than i already am – it’s a must see! the movie opens this friday in LA, SF and NYC and will hopefully get a wider release soon after that! (make sure to pop over to edithpiafmovie.com for more info!) popbytes over & out for now…xxoo!
PHOTO CREDIT – BRUNO CALVO