I've just watched La Vie en Rose or La Mome as it was called in France. The movie gives glimpses of the very full life of the singer Edith Piaf, who died at the age of 47. In my twenties I became obsessed with Piaf and other artists flourishing during her era, including Picasso, Miro, Matisse, James Joyce. I was taking a lot of French classes at the time and I read a lot about her and often listened to her music. Her voice still gives me chills. It's possible that non-fanatics will not enjoy this biography quite as much as I did but it is worth watching for the performance of Marion Cotillard and the music alone. It is difficult to keep the events of her life in order as her story is told in flashbacks. Some of the famous relationships she had (Yves Montand, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Aznavour) aren't included. The melodrama of her life was real: desertion by her parents, living in a brothel as a child, singing on the streets of Paris, paying part of her earnings to a pimp, the death of her only daughter, using alcohol and drugs to kill both her mental and physical pain.  Yet she had that voice that I think is incomparable. No one can touch it today. Listen to the song La Vie en Rose or Non Je ne Regrette Rien.  I've linked to the subtitled versions on youtube so that you can get an idea of the beauty of the lyrics and how they relate to Piaf's life.  This is one of those movies that you can have a good cry over.  Sometimes it's beneficial to cry over a movie because even if you have a good reason to cry about something else, you aren't always able to. 

Since I'm a knitter, I was struck by some of the details in the movie.  The costumes were exceptionally well done and early on I noticed some of the homely, but lovely knitted garments, including the shawls and capes worn by the prostitutes, the afghans and knitting that people did because they were badly needed garments.  Edith Piaf loved to knit and I read a story that she knitted a little black dress to wear on stage for her first performance after she was "discovered' but was only able to finish one sleeve.  She still wore the dress but someone lent her a shawl to cover her one bare arm.  She is shown knitting in the movie and is saddened when her arthritis makes it difficult for her.  So if you need a good cry, like to watch movies with knitting content, or just want to see a great performance, check out La Vie en Rose.