levineshelly

What a wonderful film. The characters, the relationships, the situations are all so real. Seven adult siblings are negotiating coming together for Christmas, after having bailed on their mother's 70th birthday party the night before. The oldest brother, played by Ed Burns, tries to bring the family together but must deal with all the various conflicts and alliances that naturally occur in a large family. The plot revolves around the absent father, who abandoned the family 20 years earlier and who now wants to reunite with the family for Christmas. All very authentic and moving, without ever becoming melodramatic. Anita Gillette, the actress playing the family matriarch, is absolutely amazing. And Ed Burns is fabulous, as usual. This should be an annual Christmas movie!

This film ranks up there with Amadeus as a truly superb biopic. Not only is the cast amazing (Marion Cotillard gives a once-in-a-lifetime breathtaking performance), but Dahan's direction is brilliant as well. The shifts in time serve to enhance the drama and the emotional impact and keep the film from becoming an ordinary music video. Critics labeling this film as melodrama are doing an injustice to the subject matter. Piaf's life was so tragic that it is impossible not to create melodrama, but truly in the best sense of the word. In fact the brief memory Piaf has on her deathbed of Marcelle is so much more poignant than if the director had included the event in chronological order. Furthermore the cinematography is amazing; so many of the frames are works of art. I almost wished I could see them again.

The music alone is worth seeing this film for. I was disappointed when I walked into the lobby and didn't find Edith Piaf CDs for sale!