Cielo azul sin una sola nube

La Môme / La Vie En Rose
D: Olivier Dahan
Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Gérard Depardieu.

Based on the childhood, adolescence and stardom of French singer Edith Piaf.

I must start by saying that I'm not at all familiarized with Edith Piaf, and that I've never been a great fan of that specific kind of music. And even with that, I was pretty satisfied with the movie. The thing is: the movie on itself (script, illumiation, photography, etcetera) are good on theirselves, but not doubt at all, what makes this movie extraordinary insteaf of just plain good is the performance of Marion Cotillard.

This was, no place for doubt, one of the best performances I've seen in my life - Cotillard gets inside the character, makes it real, and if it wasn't for her, the movie wouldn't be half as good as it is. As I've said, the script is good, and I've always liked non-linear narrative; but it's Cotillard's performace what makes it emotional, deep and touching. I must admit I spent the last twenty minutes of the movie crying - once I started I just couldn't stop. And yet, there's something that never quite clicked for me, I don't know what. I'm not sure I'll be able to see it again, for example.

There's this scene in particular, I'm not going to spoil anyone but it has Edith walking through long hallways time and time again, and it could very well be the climax of the movie, since in just one moment the viewers realize something horrible has happened, and the tension and emotion that that scene causes surprised me. The cinematography is forever changing according to the age and Edith's shifting moods (dark and opressive for the Paris of her childhood, elegant and smooth for the New York of the 30s, colorful and vibrant for California, and so on), but it never goes beyond the rule.

I give it a five out of a five, but I must add: this grading is for Marion Cotillard's superb acting. The movie is good, but not as good.