La Môme . . . No Regrets, Piaf Film Portrait Triumphs

Crippled by arthritis and alcohol, La Môme struggles onto L'Olympia's concert stage with help from a morphine shot and the sheer will to sing once more. Olivier Dahan's poignant film portrait of Edith Piaf belongs to Parisian-born actress Marion Cotillard. Cotillard must have been channeling The Little Sparrow, her performance captures Piaf as spectacularly and exhaustingly as she lived.

Opening in early June as La Vie En Rose across the U.S., Dahan's stunning tribute recently closed the 50th Anniversary San Francisco International Film Festival. Dahan alternated speaking in French and English during a Q&A exchange with SF Film Society's Executive Director, Graham Leggat and the audience.

Dahan's inspiration for making the film came from a photograph of Piaf. He then set about reading everything he could find. He chose not to interview friends or others who knew her best because he wanted to develop his own interpretation of who she was. Dahan's initial script came in at 240 pages, the final came in at 140---still 40-60 pages longer than most screenplays today.

Unlike most of us, Dahan said that he doesn't consider Piaf an icon, (no one asked him who he does consider to be one). However, when asked what it was like to make the film, Dahan replied, "It was like standing at the base of an enormous mountain."

Dahan's technique of alternating flashbacks with "present" pivotal moments of triumph and tragedy is startling and perfect. In explaining why he placed one of Piaf's little known personal tragedies near the film's end, he said it was to honor how she herself handled it, 'Piaf never spoke about it in life' and he didn't want viewers to "dwell on it" throughout the film. That Dahan revealed this issue during Piaf's final hours was another brilliant choice.

It's hard to believe that Dahan doesn't consider Piaf an icon --- he so clearly honors her in one of the most---stunning (did I say that enough already?)---character portraits ever produced on film. Dahan said he feels proud. When long-time friends of Piaf finally saw the completed film, they told him, "Yes, that's her. You got her right."