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Review
Claude Lelouch’s skew-whiff tribute to Edith Piaf and Marcel Cerdan – an iconic
pairing if there was one – is (like much of Lelouch’s work) a boisterous,
rambling affair with an excess of style which borders on the painfully vulgar. The
film’s faults are all too apparent and yet the whole thing is so charming and well-meant
that even its worst excesses are just about pardonable. For those who find pleasure
in Lelouch’s inimitable approach to the cinematic form or who have a particular
interest in either of the film’s two principal protagonists, Edith et Marcel
is an engaging work; for anyone else, the film’s unbridled pretensions and long runtime
will make it something of an ordeal.
Anyone expecting an in-depth and accurate portrayal of the lives of Edith Piaf or Marcel Cerdan will be disappointed by the film. The narrative skates along the surface of what is generally known about the couple’s ill-fated liaison without venturing too much background information. In addition, a second story strand, involving an ordinary couple, takes up roughly half of the film’s runtime, dividing our attention and preventing us from probing too deeply into the steamy Piaf-Cerdan affair. Lelouch just about gets away with this because he avoids the conventional narrative style and instead uses music and camera movement in an original way to create a near-abstract portrayal of doomed love, although he fails to capture the spirit of Piaf’s songs. A far more satisfying – and accurate – appreciation of Piaf’s life experiences can be gained just by listening to recordings of her by now legendary songs. The film itself was marred by tragedy at an early stage. Originally, Patrick Dewaere, arguably France’s most promising actor at the time, was cast in the role of Marcel Cerdan. It was during rehearsals for the film that Dewaere inexplicably committed suicide. His part in the film was subsequently given to Marcel Cerdan’s own son. Charles Aznavour also appears in the film, playing himself as a young man and providing the film with some of its most memorable moments. © James Travers 2003 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Claude Lelouch
Starring: Evelyne Bouix, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster, Jean-Claude Brialy, Marcel Cerdan Jr. Synopsis
Before World War II, Edith Piaf and Marcel Cerdan were both on their way to becoming legends
in their own lifetimes. From humble begins in the streets of Paris, Piaf is one
of the most well-known and successful singers in the world, renowned for her tragic love
songs; Cerdan is a boxing champion who has acquired a reputation for being unbeatable.
After the war, it seems inevitable that the two should meet and have a passionate –
and horribly ill-fated – love affair. Their story is paralleled by that of
Jacques and Margot, inconsequential people who meet through exceptional circumstances
and who are equally marked by the cruelty of fate…
Credits
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