Pariisin varpunen – Edith Piaf

Dahan has two strong trump cards up his sleeve (Marion and Edith's “greatest hits", what else, right?) and is not afraid to use them, even if he doesn’t know how to make the most of them. Marion's one-woman show is unnecessarily dampened by the unsuccessful attempt at fragmentation of the action into a structure using time jumps, and the nonstop chansons tend to undercut it. The songs contain everything, so Dahan was content to use only nice soulless images to accompany them. Pretty pictures as a basis for musical genius and nothing more (but I admit that I would never believe before that a fight for the world boxing championship title could be cut to a plaintive chanson). But then the question arises as to whether it isn’t just better to put the "greatest hits" straight into the CD player instead. P.S.: I don't remember ever seeing a non-action film making such a magnificent use of surround sound (at least the DTS version). (07.03.2009)

My three stars and very sober rating do not indicate that Dahan's film is average. Fans of the biographical genre, especially those of the world-famous singer, can easily add two stars. With my overall impression of 55%, I express that I am interested in and excited about Edith Piaf's singing, into which I invested even at a time when things were getting worse. I am indifferent to her private life, although it was, among other things, filled with love affairs, alcohol, drugs, and various scandals, thanks to her animalistic nature. However, many contemporary "celebrities" are capable of constantly producing such scandals. But if there is a compelling reason to watch this film, it is Marion Cotillard in the main role. She delivers an incredible acting performance and literally lives through her character. Cotillard not only belongs to the top tier of French actors, but I would say she is currently the best actress of her generation. Unfortunately, her performance overshadows her colleagues - for example, Sylvie Testud in the role of her alcohol-soaked companion is also excellent... (26.09.2010)

The one less star I gave it is for its imprecise interpretations of personalities other than Piaf herself. The diverse artists that were around her in such abundance are, unfortunately, often just unbelievable shadows compared to the animalistic Edith in this film. The divine Marlene probably fared the worst... All she had to do was to be a witness at a wedding in 1952 and no one would have objected. That’s too bad. (14.12.2010)

This determined effort by the French to make a gripping biopic fails in its handling of the story, which is unnecessarily elaborately edited and overwhelms the viewer with constant flashbacks that incoherently spill back and forth for basically the entire runtime. At times, the narrative style reminded me of Once Upon a Time in America – only much less well executed and often saying nothing. Dramatically is hardly average, but the acting is amazing, with Marion Cotillard putting on a fabulous one-woman-show. Also worth mentioning is the fantastic make-up of the protagonist. All in all, though, Edith Piaf is quite a harrowing 140 minutes. Out of duty to the legend, or as a showcase of masterful acting without anything. As an entertaining and inspiring film, rather not. (10.12.2023)

Of course, I didn't miss how Marion Cotillard's performance was adored and even awarded not only by an Oscar but also by the Czech Lion, thanks to Czech coproduction. But when I finally saw the movie, I couldn't believe what this Frenchwoman was delivering here. An incredible performance. I wish she would forget about big blockbusters and continue captivating us with her performances in smaller, more meaningful films. It's true that without her, the movie probably wouldn't stand out as much, although the interesting time jumps make it a bit peculiar, maybe unnecessarily so. Still, it's a quality film with beautiful music. And Marion sang all of this as well... Unbelievable. (01.03.2014)