Maps of Movies
La Vie en Rose (2007)
Where La Vie en Rose says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
A life told out of order: Piaf's Paris was partly rebuilt in Montmartre, and the film also shot in Prague
View on the mapScenes and places
A Belleville street, 1918 (1918)
Édith is a small child in a rough Belleville street. Her mother sings for coins and decides she cannot keep her, so the girl's life is about to be handed from one grown-up to the next.
Set in Belleville, Paris — The working-class Paris district where little Édith's mother sings for coins and then leaves her. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Belleville was a working-class Paris district; the film's guide says the street scenes were rebuilt in Montmartre.
Filmed at Rue Androuet, Montmartre — The City of Paris film-trail guide says Belleville of the 1930s was recreated on this Montmartre street for the film; which scene is not stated. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The grandmother's house in Normandy (1918)
Édith arrives at her grandmother's house, which is a brothel. A kind sex worker named Titine takes her under her wing, and the girl sees a world no child should.
Set in Bernay, Normandy — The Normandy town where Édith is left with her paternal grandmother, who runs a brothel. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Bernay is a small Normandy town; the film's year caption places the house there.
Life under the circus tent (1921)
Édith's father takes her to live with him in a circus. One night she sees a vision of Saint Thérèse in a fire eater's flames, and believes the saint will stay with her.
Set in A travelling circus — A touring circus where Édith's father works as an acrobat and she travels with him.
No filming place or town for the circus is given in the sources.
A nine-year-old sings in the street (1924)
Her father now performs on Paris streets, and the show is going badly. A passerby asks whether the girl is part of the act, and Édith sings 'La Marseillaise' with raw emotion.
Set in A Paris street — A street in Paris where her father performs and Édith is asked to sing.
The sources name no specific street for this scene.
Leplée's nightclub (1935)
Louis Leplée introduces a street singer to a room of society guests and gives her the name Piaf, 'sparrow'. The audience is won over.
Set in Gerny's nightclub, Paris — The Paris cabaret where owner Louis Leplée puts the young street singer on stage.
Gerny's was the club in the film; its real location is not named in the sources.
A date in New York (1948)
Édith, on tour, meets the French middleweight Marcel Cerdan. He is married, but she believes she is falling in love, and a secret affair begins.
Set in New York City — Where Édith, on tour, meets the French boxer Marcel Cerdan. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The film places these scenes in New York; the sources name no real filming spot there.
The convertible and the Joshua tree (1955)
Édith, now sober, grabs the wheel of a convertible and drives her friends around California, joking all the way. She drives into a Joshua tree, gets out and pretends to hitchhike.
Set in A California road, August 1955 — A hot desert road where Édith, newly sober, drives a convertible for fun.
The script's caption puts the scene on a California road in August 1955.
Filmed at Los Angeles (city only) — English Wikipedia says filming took place in Paris, Los Angeles and Prague; which scenes were shot in Los Angeles is not stated, so this pin is the city only. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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A new song at Boulevard Lannes (1960)
Édith, frail and tired, gathers her entourage in her apartment. Composer Charles Dumont sits at the piano to play her a new song, and she loves it.
Set in 67 Boulevard Lannes, Paris — Édith's real Paris home in her last ten years, where the film has her receive a new song. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A plaque on the building at 67 Boulevard Lannes states that Piaf lived there for the last ten years of her life.
Back on the Olympia stage (1961)
Édith, frail and hunched, argues with her entourage about whether she can perform at the Olympia. She decides to sing the new song.
Set in L'Olympia, Paris — The Paris music hall where Piaf makes her 1961 comeback. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Olympia opened in 1893 and is Paris's oldest and best-known music hall.
Filmed at Barrandov Studios, Prague — Listed as a Prague filming place; the scene is not stated Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Lucerna Palace, Prague — Listed as a Prague filming place; the scene is not stated Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Municipal House, Prague — Listed as a Prague filming place; the scene is not stated Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Náměstí Míru, Prague — Listed as a Prague filming place; the scene is not stated Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Rue Drevet steps, Montmartre — Young Édith singing for passers-by and in cabarets in Montmartre Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- Édith Piaf — A French street singer who rises from a poor childhood to fame as the Little Sparrow.
- Marcel Cerdan — A French middleweight boxer whom Édith meets in New York.
Questions answered on the map
- Where is Édith Piaf's Paris home in La Vie en Rose?
- Where was Belleville rebuilt for La Vie en Rose?