2. La Vie En Rose
Edith Piaf is thought to be one of France's greatest international stars, with her beautiful voice fuelling her successful career as a cabaret singer. While many of her songs are well-known across the globe, her exceptional yet tragic life remained one of little public knowledge. That being so, Olivier Dahan decided to tell her story. Taking the route of a mainly non-linear narrative, Dahan focusses on the key events that make up Piaf's life; telling the story of her early childhood all the way to her death in 1963, aged just forty seven. Not only is the narrative a beautiful but saddening story, the mise-en-scene is utter perfection. Every detail, frame and setting is so delicate yet brooding and fabulously Parisian. Marion Cotillard plays Piaf with every ounce of her; completely committing to every aspect of her character. The brilliance of Cotillard's performance is in how well she sells the shocking transformation that Piaf went through in her life time, not just emotional but physically also. At the end of her life, Piaf grew exceptionally frail and it's uncomfortable for an audience to watch, and while she captured that perfectly, Cotillard at all times breaths life into Piaf's true strength and power as a wonderfully talented woman.