Le Divan de Staline (2017)
Directed by Fanny Ardant

Film Review

Fanny Ardant is an actress of undisputed ability but her first two attempts to prove herself as a film director have won her few admirers.  Cendres et Sang (2009) and Cadences obstinées (2013) both have some points of interest, but Ardant's lack of rigour and inability to construct a coherent narrative ensured that these early directorial attempts would be derided by the critics.  Her third feature shows far more promise.   Adapted from Jean-Daniel Baltassat's 2013 novel Le Divan de Staline, it serves up an intriguing huis-clos drama in which the relationship between art and power is intelligently explored through the influence that the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin exerts over his mistress and a young artist.  It is dense, brooding piece that rewards with its unsettling baroque poetry, but what sells it is an extraordinary central performance from Gérard Depardieu, back on form after so many misfires of late.

It takes some stretch of the imagination to discern any physical resemblance between Depardieu and the infamous Soviet tyrant, and yet somehow he is perfect for the role - his casting is the film's most inspired touch.  Ardant has worked with the actor many times before, appearing together on screen in films ranging from François Truffaut's sombre melodrama La Femme d'à côté (1981) to the limp comedy Hello Goodbye (2008).  Depardieu has already played many notable historical figures - Danton, Rasputin, Joseph Fouché, Columbus - so he is more than equipped to carry off the part of one of history's biggest villains (as well as one of the most complex).  Depardieu's Stalin is more a calculating chess player than a psychotic dictator - a sad relic of a man who still has the ability to inspire awe and terror.  In a remarkably contained performance, Depardieu exudes a quiet menace that permeates the entire film

As the pawns in Stalin's little game of psychological power play, Emmanuelle Seigner and Paul Hamy turn in equally commendable performances.  Both are convincing as tortured souls aching with a desire to express themselves freely instead of being manipulated like dolls, but live in fear of the consequences.  Seigner is as seductive as ever but, like Hamy, her outward compliant sang froid belies the torrent of passion that rages within.  In spite of a script that is unevenly paced and occasionally far too verbose for its own good (the abundances of cultural references merely shows off Ardant's erudition), the three principals have no difficulty holding our attention  - their performances are as intense as they are meticulously nuanced.  It's a pity that Ardant's mise-en-scène shows the same forced staginess that so badly mars her first two films, but here it is less of an issue as the subject naturally lends itself to a more theatrical style of direction.  Occasionally undermined by its artistic excesses and a script that could have done with some judicious pruning, Le Divan de Staline falls way short of being a masterpiece but it makes a compelling chamber piece and you are left drastically revising your assessment of Fanny Ardant's capabilities as a film director.

Film Synopsis

As he nears the end of his life the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is suffering from chronic fatigue.  Following the advice of his doctors, he takes a few days out to recharge his batteries at a remote castle buried in a dense forest.  The tyrant is accompanied by his mistress of nearly thirty years, Lidia, who willingly agrees to play the part of the psychoanalyst to help him interpret the strange dreams he has been suffering from lately.  What a strange coincidence that the couch in his study should resemble that of Sigmund Freud in London.  Meanwhile, a young painter named Oleg Danilov is waiting to be received by Stalin so that he can present a memorial in the leader's honour.  Lidia is instantly attracted to the handsome artist but she knows that by starting an affair with him she risks putting both of their lives in peril.  Stalin is not a man who will take kindly to being deceived by his mistress...