Part 1: Lettre en Francais

October 9, 1963
Marcel Cerdan
Cimetière du Sud, Perpignan, France

Cher Marcel,
J’espère te voir bientôt. Chaque soir, je prie à sainte Thérèse, lui demandant de veiller sur toi. Je
demande à te revoir. Quand je suis allé à ton premier match de boxe, j’ai prié sainte Thérèse aussi. Je
me suis assise là portant un long manteau marron et tu portais un short rouge, je pense que je suis
tombée amoureuse de toi. J’ai chanté « allez Marcel ! », et tu as gagné.

Tu es mort il y a 14 ans, parfois c’est comme si c’était il y a toute une vie, mais parfois c’est comme
une semaine. J’ai eu deux maris depuis ta mort, Jacques et Théo. Je me suis toujours demandé
pourquoi nous ne nous sommes jamais mariés, mais je sais maintenant que je t’aimais plus que tu ne
m’aimais.

Quand nous allions dîner, je remarquais quand tu partes pour prendre un appel. Tu avais appelé ta
femme; tu avais appelé tes enfants. Je savais mais j’ai fait semblant de ne pas le remarquer parce que
je voulais que tu sois heureux. Je savais que malgré l’amour que nous partagions, tu ne les quitterais
jamais. Mais cela n’avait pas d’importance, car il n’y avait rien devant toi. Je me souviens que lors de
notre premier rendez-vous, tu m’as dit que j’avais des yeux de lavande. Maintenant, la lavande est ma
couleur préférée.

En Amérique, j’ai chanté au Carnegie Hall deux fois. Une fois en 1956 et de nouveau en 1957.
Chaque fois que je chantais La Vie En Rose, je pensais à toi. Quelquefois, j’ai chanté pour toi et pour
notre amour.

Aujourd’hui, j’ai demandé à voir la montre que j’ai achetée pour toi, la montre que tu n’as jamais pu
voir. C’est une belle montre avec des bords dorés et de belles décorations. Je voulais tu le donner, le
jour où ton avion s’est écrasé. Ton avion m’a enlevé mon cœur, mon souffle et je ne l’ai jamais
récupéré. Mon cœur t’appartenait, il le fait toujours. Ce jour-là, je t’ai préparé le petit déjeuner le
matin, mais tu n’étais pas là pour le manger. Un croissant, et une tasse de café, sans sucre ni lait,
comme tu l’aimé.

Tu m’as inspiré, ma chérie.

Avec l’amour,

Edith Piaf
 Part 2:
English
Review

La Vie En Rose (2007), directed Olivier Dahan is a beguiling, poignant and tragic film depicting the
hardships, persistence and personality of world renowned French singer, Edith Piaf (played by
Marion Cotillard). During Cotillard’s time undertaking the role, she described it as a challenging but
rewarding role as she placed herself in Edith’s position. Throughout the film, Edith’s life prior to fame
is shown, capturing the adversities she overcame during her childhood. By capturing these struggles,
illustrating the imperfections within her life and ultimately, humanising her, the audience is
reminded of the national French motto (liberty, equality, fraternity). As the film was produced with
the intentions of being publicised to westernised media, it somewhat acts as a form of education for
viewers to further portray elements of French culture and correspondingly, Edith Piaf’s significance
within French culture. Similarly, the film in itself strongly depicts French culture through the
soundtrack and scenery displaying smaller rural parts of France, often neglected by other popular
French films who primarily film in popularised locations such as Paris and Nice.

As the film follows Edith’s personal and public life, the audience is able to recognise how they
influence each other and as Edith’s backstory is revealed, her mannerisms and behaviours become
more apparent. Furthermore, Edith’s singing, and performance style was highly unique, and Cotillard
is able to express this throughout her innovative execution of the role. In spite of the countless
female singers attempting to succeed at the time of Edith's rise to fame, the expressive
interpretations and charisma of her songs made her stand out among the crowd. As the audience
come to recognise her own struggles of childhood abandonment, drug abuse and unstable
relationships, they’re able to grow a more appreciative and to a certain extent, sympathetic
approach towards Edith. Through this intimate, raw, and emotional depiction of Edith’s life, we gain
more respect and come to understand her level of commitment and perseverance despite countless
hardships. We learn that Edith worked for her achievements, and they weren’t simply handed to her.
In this way, I believe this is what makes her so iconic, perhaps she wasn’t the best role model, but
she is an authentic reflection of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Subsequently, Edith Piaf grew to
become a symbol of French culture, and her music remains popular across the world today as an icon
of France. Specifically Edith’s song, La Vie En Rose, is one known across the world and often
associated with French and Parisian culture, through the emotional portrayal of Edith’s life, Dahan
was able to provide a face and a story to this song (ultimately providing it with more meaning).

Heart-wrenching and visionary, Dahan’s La Vie En Rose, captured the poignant story of Edith Piaf, a
French icon, educating the audience whilst simultaneously evoking sentiments of sympathy.
Furthermore, the film was highly captivating, influential, and inspiring and is greatly recommended
for all audiences.