La Vie en Rose

"The extraordinary story of Edith Piaf."

2007 2h 20m FR

👍

7.4

SOLID

🥫

50%

ROTTEN

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 1,780🥫50%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 92,777

MusicDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.

“The extraordinary story of Edith Piaf.”

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Cast

Marion Cotillard
Edith Piaf
Sylvie Testud
Simone 'Mômone' Berteaut
Pascal Greggory
Louis Barrier
Emmanuelle Seigner
Titine
Jean-Paul Rouve
Louis Gassion
Gérard Depardieu
Louis Leplée
Clotilde Courau
Annetta Gassion
Jean-Pierre Martins
Marcel Cerdan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Olivier Dahan
Writers: Isabelle Sobelman, Olivier Dahan
Languages: French
Countries: Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Olivier Dahan, shot by Tetsuo Nagata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Gunning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Marizy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marion Cotillard and Sylvie Testud and Pascal Greggory carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The extraordinary story of Edith Piaf.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Olivier Dahan directs. Tetsuo Nagata behind the camera. Christopher Gunning scores. Richard Marizy cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.
2Released 19 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Olivier Dahan, shot by Tetsuo Nagata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Christopher Gunning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard Marizy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Marion Cotillard and Sylvie Testud and Pascal Greggory carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The extraordinary story of Edith Piaf.".
9IMDB entry: tt0450188 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "france", "musical", "biography", "singer".
11Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tetsuo Nagata
Original score: Christopher Gunning
Editing: Richard Marizy
Production design: Olivier Raoux
Costume design: Marit Allen
Makeup / hair: Gabriela Poláková
VFX supervisor: Seb Caudron
Runtime: 140 min · 2h 20m
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $86,274,793
Return: 345% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: La Vie en Rose (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 92,777 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 48 wins & 61 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Academy Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Olivier Dahan

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-03
★ 7/10
Marion Cotillard is super in this depiction of the life of French chanteuse Édith Piaf - from her upbringing in a brothel through the stages of her life that moulded this flawed but inspirational, and rather sad, woman into the truly international superstar that she became. Her performance is captivating; capturing the mannerisms and characteristics in a gritty, sympathetic and authentic fashion; leaving us in no doubt as to the thin emotional tightrope Piaf walked between sanity and, eventually, a drug-induced stupor and of the risks that involved not just for her, but those loyal (and not so much) around her. It is long, and at times Olivier Dahan takes a rather brutal approach to the chronology that can take a bit of getting used to; but the supporting performances - especially from Pacsal Gregory (Barrier) and Jean-Pierre Martins (Cerdan) add a richness as important as the imagery. These, as well as a thoroughly plausible script contribute really well to the overall mix and assist with an overall creative storyline that was always going to be pretty bumpy at the best of times. The film is, ultimately, about a singer - and the vast majority of the songs make no bones about using the original - and exquisitely performed vocals. I've seen many biopics - but few as good as this.
THE-LENS2026-09-20
Film: La Vie en Rose Director: Olivier Dahan Starring: Marion Cotillard as Piaf PLOT: \\\\ MUSIC: \\\\ PERFORMANCE: \\\\ CINEMATOGRAPHY: \\\\ Year: 2007 ‧ Musical/Drama Review by Dr Usman Latif Khawaja EDITH PIAF — THE FRENCH SPARROW The French have a way of making movies, and no one can do it as stylishly or realistically as them, and this is the latest evidence in support of that argument, in Olivier Dahan's coup de grâce biopic of Edith Piaf, enacted perfectly by Miss Marion Cotillard. The story of the life and times of the legendary French singer who rose from the slums of Paris to shine like a star even in New York's mercenary concert halls is no ordinary tale at 149 minutes, as it traces her life from a 3-year-old child to her last moments in 1963. Piaf was not her surname; it means sparrow in French and was given to her by her early admirers, and she sings just as sweetly. The performance by Cotillard is the centrepiece, but the songs are actually the originals sung by Piaf herself, and they are extraordinary, whether it's the title song, La Vie en Rose or her last song, which she sang in Olympia while she was critically ill, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. It's the songs which play a great part in the narrative, which is a trifle tedious as the movie keeps switching from one time to another, without any sequence, though it manages to cover most of her extraordinary life and loves, but it could have been simpler, though it is a triumph in the end. The songs are the originals, and Miss Cotillard lip-synchronises them to great advantage. From the days of street busking in Paris to the last concert in Olympia, it's a delight to listen to the score. The various agents, lovers and trainers who helped her climb the ladder to the top are all very well depicted, from George Depardieu as her early benefactor to Marcel Cerdan \[Jean-Baptiste Maunier\], the heavyweight boxing champion who was her last lover and died very tragically, destroying her life along with his own death in a plane crash. In a very touching scene, after she sings La Vie en Rose in New York, Marlene Dietrich comes publicly to compliment her, saying that for a moment her song transported her to Paris, as she was enchanted by her singing. The production is superb, from Paris to California, and brings out the eccentricity of a woman who was the best singer France has ever produced and yet who was on a self-destructive streak despite her immense creativity. In final analysis, you will be very touched by the life of a small girl abandoned by her mother, brought up in the brothel of her grandmother and then patronised by the gangsters in the seedy bars of Paris, to finally make it as one of the greatest international singers of all time. The person who takes the most credit for this is Miss Cotillard, who was last seen in The Good Year with Russell Crowe, but here she is extraordinary and makes Edith Piaf come to life in a role which can easily win her an Oscar. YET, AS PIAF SINGS IN THE END, SHE HAD NO REGRETS AT ALL. EVERYTHING SERVED A PURPOSE, AS IT DOES IN ALL OUR LIVES. EDITH PIAF — THE SPARROW OF FRANCE, who lived and died to sing and bring joy to millions of people. Thanks for reading.

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