Watch Your Language Blog

Marion Cotillard Breaks the Language Boundary

Okay, so I know I'm a week late on this, but there's been much ado made over the fact that the top four acting prizes went to non-Americans. That's not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about — what's amazing to me, rather — was Marion Cotillard's win for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Môme, or, as it was titled here, La Vie En Rose.

In 80 years of awards, this is only the fourth time an actress has won top prize at the Oscars for a role in which English was not her spoken language, and only the second Academy Award for Best Actress given for a film in a foreign language. The other non-English winners? Sophia Loren in 1961 for her Italian-speaking role in La Ciociara (Two Women), Marlee Matlin, who used American Sign Language in 1986 for her role in Children of a Lesser God, and, most recently, in 1993, Holly Hunter, who didn't speak at all in The Piano.

Marion's win might be just a little thing, but I couldn't help expressing auditory joy (as my friends and family can attest to) when she won. I was moved by the film — truly moved by her performance — and it would have been a shame had she been denied this prize simply because she delivered her lines in a language not native to or even understood by most of the jury.

Performance is communication, and while language is an important part of communication, there's is more even to language than just knowing the words. Expression, delivery, emphasis, cultural reciprocity — these all add up to what we call communication, or, in this case, performance. I'm just glad the Academy is willing to acknowledge this once in a while. (SUZANNE)

Tags: American Sign Language, French
March 3, 2008