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Seraphine (Film)

by Ben Jenkins | September 22, 2009 15:51 | Edited September 22, 2009 15:52

A moving, distinctly French tale, this sumptuous production is made complete with a brilliant performance by leading lady Yolande Moreau.

It's difficult to watch Seraphine without being overwhelmed by the "Frenchness" of the whole thing. There are beautifully shot pastoral landscapes, immaculate period costumes, and tiny village delis - from the outset, it almost appears to be a parody of itself. Thankfully it is not. Seraphine is, rather, a truly remarkable film about the life of an incredibly interesting woman.

 

You don't need to know anything about the life or works of the "naïve" painter of the title to enjoy the film; in fact, the real joy of Seraphine is the discovery of the character herself (brilliantly played by Yolande Moreau), the most unlikely of figures to be considered an "artist".

 

Seraphine is a withdrawn and awkward cleaner and laundress, a seemingly doddering crone who, to everyone's surprise, secretly paints vivid and beautiful works. She believes that her "gift" is from the Gods, and paints only in private until she is discovered by a troubled German art dealer and critic (Ulrich Tukur) who elevates her to the position of one of the leaders of the "Primitive Modernist" movement.

 

It may sound like a typical rags-to-riches story, but King Ralph it is not. Seraphine is a deeply moving and often harrowing account of a woman saved, abandoned, redeemed and eventually broken by her own need to create. Seraphine is almost exactly as bleak as it sounds, but is nevertheless absolutely absorbing. The film also cleaned up at the 2009 Cesar Awards, winning everything from Best Film to Best Actress, a most deserving accolade for Moreau, a most unlikely leading lady.

 

Seraphine lags, if only slightly, in the third act. This is partly because of the undeniably dark subject matter, but mainly because the narrative slows right down and begins inching, in merciless detail, toward the final and by now inevitable conclusion.