Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose

Unknown to many of this generation, the French singer Edith Piaf led a remarkable life of equal parts triumph and tragedy. In this biographical film-now out on DVD-actress Marion Cotillard plays Piaf to perfection in what the New York Times called “the most astonishing immersion of one performer into the body and soul of another.” It is a gripping saga of poverty to power to pain-all smashed into the singer’s short 47 years-wrapped around the sweet sounds of Piaf’s unique voice and the scenes of France during World Wars I and II. It’s certainly worth 141 minutes of your time.