Séraphine (2008) - film review

On the eve of the First World War, the German art dealer Wilhelm Uhde rents an apartment in a small French town where he hopes to write and take stock of his life.  He sees nothing remarkable in his housekeeper, Séraphine, a woman in her late forties, yet she is an avid painter, who spends her evenings painting marvellous works of art.  When he comes across one of Séraphine’s paintings by chance, the art dealer sees that she is an artist of immense talent and encourages her in her hobby.  As war breaks out in Europe, Uhde is compelled to return to his native Germany.  Thirteen years later, he is back in France and discovers that not only is Séraphine still painting but her technique has improved.  She is now one of the finest naive artists of her generation.  Uhde has no difficulty selling Séraphine’s work but she is tragically ill-equipped to deal with the good fortune that comes her way...

Séraphine, a dramatised account of the life of the self-taught painter Séraphine de Senlis, is a rare thing.  It is a biopic that immerses itself fully in the life experiences of its subject, conveys something of this individual’s personality and torment, and compels us to want to know more about the exceptional talent that it portrays.   The film is directed, with an austerity and lyricism that is vaguely reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman’s later period, by Martin Provost, his third feature to date.  In addition to the harsh realism seen in Provost’s previous film, the excellent Le Ventre de Juliette (2003), there is also a haunting poetry, a strangely mystical quality which reflects the troubled spirit of the film’s protagonist.  

The character of Séraphine is played to perfection by Yolande Moreau, an actress whose star has been very much in the ascendant since Quand la mer monte... (2004), the delightful odd-ball film she both directed and starred in.  Too often typecast in the role of sad, simpleminded spinsters, Moreau has, over the past few years, revealed that she is an actress of great talent and charisma; the role of Séraphine de Senlis allows her to give the performance of her career.   It is a portrayal that has both humour and pathos in abundance.  Séraphine’s eccentricities may amuse us, but we are equally moved by the endless agonies and ecstasies she must endure as an artist, one who has been called to express Nature’s wonders through her primitive but alluring art.

Séraphine was the film that received the most awards (seven in total) at the 2009 Césars ceremony (where it was up against Jean-François Richet’s blockbuster thriller Mesrine, a biopic of an altogether different kind).  In addition to winning the award for Best French Language Film, it also won awards for its costumes, set design, music, cinematography and original screenplay, and Yoland Moreau was justly rewarded with the Best Actress award.

This is a film that will stay with you, and for all the right reasons.  The unfussy simplicity of the mise-en-scène accentuates the impact of the stark images and conveys so much of Séraphine’s tortured existence.  The directness of the storytelling renders the story highly poignant, without the needless embellishment of sentimentality.  And Yolande Moreau’s interpretation of a gifted artist who was incapable of profiting from her genius has an authenticity that will drive you to tears.  Like the unique art of Séraphine de Senlis, this film is a work of exquisite simplicity, suffused with a charm and beauty so raw, so pure, that it can hardly fail to leave an indelible mark on anyone who looks upon it.

© James Travers 2010

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