Take an unforgettable trip through “The City of Light (La Ville-lumière)” in the dramatic life story of Edith Piaf, France’s greatest songstress, as Spinning Reels brings La Vie en Rose to the Norwood Theatre 3 for one screening only, on January 14. The film opened the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival to great fanfare and went on to enthrall international audiences worldwide.

The film, produced in French with English subtitles, begins at the height of Piaf’s career, during her celebrated 1959 New York performance — just four years before her death. Employing a series of ingenious flashbacks, director Olivier Dahan brings us highlights from Piaf’s tumultuous life, while Marion Cotillard, best known for her performance in A Very Long Engagement, brilliantly portrays the chanteuse’s evolution from lowly street singer, her discovery by cabaret owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), her struggles with stage fright and her rise to international acclaim.

Hailed by one critic as “the performance of a lifetime,” Cotillard is riveting as Piaf, both lending insight into her misery and dazzling audiences with her incredibly moving stage presence. Expert makeup seamlessly transforms this astonishing young actor from hesitant teenager to international star. And then there is the music. The film’s score includes 30 unforgettable songs, including “Non, je ne regrette rien,” “Mylord” and, of course, “La Vie en Rose.”

Spinning Reels is a Bracebridge-based non-profit volunteer organization affiliated with The Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group dedicated to bringing alternative films to smaller communities across Canada and around the world.

The group is proud to bring local cinefiles two films per month in January, March and April, and one per month in February and May, so mark your calendars. The next film, on January 28, is Emotional Arithmetic, the closing night film at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, with an ensemble cast featuring Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, Gabriel Byrne and Roy Dupuis.