''Dalida'' is a 2017 French

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

about the life of singer and actress

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

. It is written, directed and co-produced by

Lisa Azuelos Lisa Azuelos (born Elise-Anne Bethsabée Azuelos; 6 November 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French director, writer, and producer. She is the daughter of singer Marie Laforêt. Biography Lisa Azuelos is the daughter of French singer and actr ...

, and stars Sveva Alviti as Dalida.

Plot

In 1967

goes to a hotel and unsuccessfully attempts suicide. Rushing to her side during recovery are her ex-husband Lucien Morisse, her ex-lover Jean Sobieski and her brother Orlando (born Bruno). The three men explain different facets of Dalida's personality: Dalida grew up a passionate music lover thanks to her violinist father in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

but always felt herself to be ugly because of the large glasses she wore. She was discovered in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by Lucien Morisse, a Parisian radio programmer who eventually fell for her and left his wife for her. Dalida became disillusioned with Morisse when he put off marriage and a child to focus on building her career. Nevertheless, she married him, but quickly began an affair with artist Jean Sobieski. She eventually left Sobieski as well, to have an affair with

Luigi Tenco Luigi Tenco (21 March 1938 – 27 January 1967) was an Italian singer-songwriter. Biography Tenco was born in Cassine (province of Alessandria) in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in uncle ...

, a temperamental musician. Luigi commits suicide after having a breakdown and walking off stage at the 1967 Sanremo Music Festival. Dalida finds his body and it is this her friends and family believe has contributed to her mental breakdown and suicide attempt. With the help of her brother Dalida recovers and begins to record new music and find new loves. Going to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to perform, she encounters a young 22-year-old student and the two embark upon a love affair. Discovering she is pregnant Dalida decides not to keep the child as she feels her lover is too young to be a responsible parent and that she does not want to raise a child without a father. She has an abortion and breaks things off with her lover. Dalida's brother Orlando begins to manage her career causing a new period of success for her. Lucien Morisse meanwhile commits suicide in their old apartment. Dalida is introduced to media personality Richard Chanfray (

Nicolas Duvauchelle Nicolas Duvauchelle (born 27 March 1980) is a French actor, perhaps best known for his role as Theo in three seasons of the crime drama ''Braquo''. Career Duvauchelle starred in numerous films including ''Lightweight'', '' À tout de suite'' ...

) and the two begin a relationship. Dalida feels safe and secure for the first time in her life, but eventually their relationship begins to crumble. Richard accidentally shoots the boyfriend of her housekeeper believing he is an intruder and Dalida is forced to pay off the family to keep him out of jail. After Richard gets jealous of her career, she records an album with him despite the fact that he is a poor singer. Dalida believes she is pregnant only to learn her abortion destroyed her uterus and any chance she may have had of becoming pregnant. At a New Year's Eve party after Richard is unpleasant to her and publicly mocks her eating disorder, Dalida finally kicks him out of her life. Sometime after he commits suicide as well. Her career doing better than ever, Dalida acts in the film ''Le Sixième Jour'' to much acclaim and returns to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

where she is feted by the people. Nevertheless, she dissolves into a deep depression, becoming a shut-in with her

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...

spiralling out of control. She finally commits suicide leaving behind a note explaining that life is too difficult.

Cast

* Sveva Alviti as

Riccardo Scamarcio Riccardo Dario Scamarcio (; born 13 November 1979) is an Italian actor and film producer. Life and career Scamarcio was born in Trani, Apulia, the son of Irene Petrafesa, a painter, and Emilio Scamarcio. He went to train as an actor at the Sc ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Jean-Paul Rouve Jean-Paul Rouve (born 26 January 1967) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He is a member of the troupe "Les Robins des Bois". He has appeared in more than thirty film and television productions since 1993. Personal li ...

as Lucien Morisse *

as Richard Chanfray * Alessandro Borghi as

* Valentina Carli as Rosy * Brenno Placido as Lucio *

Niels Schneider Niels Schneider (; born 18 June 1987) is a Franco-Canadian actor who has appeared in more than thirty films since 2007. Born in Paris, naturalized Canadian, Schneider moved to Montreal at the age of 9 to start his career doing voice-over jobs. ...

as Jean Sobieski * Hamarz Vasfi as Pietro Gigliotti * Davide Lorino as elder Orlando * F. Haydee Borelli as Giuseppina Gigliotti *

Vincent Perez Vincent Perez (born 10 June 1964) is a Swiss actor, director and photographer. He played the title character, Ashe Corven, in '' The Crow: City of Angels'', and starred in ''Queen of the Damned'', playing Marius de Romanus. Some of his films in ...

Eddie Barclay Édouard Ruault (26 January 1921 – 13 May 2005), better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French music Record producer, producer whose singers included Jacques Brel, Dalida and Charles Aznavour. He founded record label Barclay (record label), ...

Patrick Timsit Patrick Timsit () is a French comedian, writer and film director. He has been nominated for four César Awards – three times as an actor and once as a writer. He is best known for the French comedy ''Un indien dans la ville''. In 2006, he pa ...

Bruno Coquatrix Bruno Coquatrix (5 August 1910, Ronchin, Nord – 1 April 1979) was a French music producer, the owner and manager of the Olympia Hall in Paris from 1954 until his death in 1979. Career Coquatrix was first known as a song and music writer. He ...

* Michaël Cohen as

Arnaud Desjardins Arnaud Desjardins (; June 18, 1925 in Paris – August 10, 2011 in Grenoble) was a French author. He was a producer at the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française from 1952 to 1974, and was one of the first high-profile practitioners of Ea ...

* Elena Rapisarda as young

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

took place from 8 February to 22 April 2016, in France, Italy and Morocco.

Reception

In a statement to the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

, Catherine Morisse, the daughter of Lucien Morisse, criticised the film for the inaccurate portrayal of her father, adding that she was not consulted during the film's production.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalida (2017 film) 2017 films Biographical films about singers 2010s musical drama films 2010s French-language films 2010s Italian-language films 2010s English-language films 2010s German-language films 2010s Arabic-language films French biographical drama films French musical drama films Films directed by Lisa Azuelos Pathé films Dalida Films shot in Italy Films shot in Morocco Cultural depictions of Dalida 2017 biographical drama films 2017 multilingual films French multilingual films 2010s French films