from The Hollywood Reporter (US) / by Srdjan Milosavljevic

Picturehouse Films has picked up the right to a film on the wildly popular French singer Edith Piaf the film will be called La Vie en Rose. Piaf, was famous for heartbreaking voice. She sang unforgettable ballads, which stayed with those who listened to them for a long time after the performance. Her life, much like her songs was mysterious, and tragic. At a young age she was abandoned by her father, and brought to live with her grandmother who owned a brothel. It is said that she lost her sight at the age of three and regained it at a seven, when her grandmother’s prostitutes went on a pilgrimage to Saint Therese de Lisieux. She became famous in the 1940’s, had a pretty turbulent life. Drug problems, marriages, deaths were the things Piaf was in the news for when not making music. These problems followed her, right up until her tragic death on October 10, 1963 she died of cancer and was only 47 years old.

Marion Cotillard stars as the unforgettable Piaf. And it has been said that she is spellbinding as the singer, that she has her voice and mannerisms down to a tee. You may remember Cottilard from the “Taxi” movies which are arguably the three of the most famous French action films ever made. Louis Leplee, the night club owner who discovered Piaf will be played by one of my all time favorite French actors Gerard Depardieu. Although Depardieu is great in comedies, he really flourishes in dramas and films which are carried by performances. He is definitely a great choice for this film. Which will no doubt be more about the performances that anything else.

Olivier Dahan will direct this biopic. Before picking up directing, Dahan was a painter. And it seems he has taken that artistic vision with him into the world of film. That is why his shots, as small as insignificant they are to the story of the film, always look interesting and sometimes mesmerizing. He showed this to us in a film which while being painfully average looked and felt absolutely brilliant because of the scenery and the imagination of the director. You can not fake style, most of the time you can’t learn it. Unfortunately, style and artistic vision are things you have to be born with. Otherwise everyone would be a movie director. After hearing about the cast, the story and the director, there is very little chance that this movie won’t pack one hell of a punch. And the life Piaf led and the kind of person she was will be hard to copy, but rest assured if it is not done properly, this film will crash and burn. So a message to the woman who bears this film on her shoulders “Miss Cotillard. No pressure”

Filed In English Press