DVD Review: ‘Séraphine’ Paints a Beautiful Portrait of an Artistic Mind

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CHICAGO – Her eyes are always looking forward, as if they possess the ability to peer into the parallel dimension next door. She feels most alive in the presence of nature, and feels great joy in recreating images of god’s creation. Her closest acquaintances seem to be of an otherworldly essence, and she acknowledges them every time her twinkly gaze is directed toward the sky.

There’s a great mystery about what goes on in the mind of Séraphine Louis, a middle-aged cleaning lady who harbors a primal compulsion to create art. She takes raw material from her natural surroundings (such as blood and clay), combines them with paint, and produces images of striking power. There’s an intensity about her imagery that frightens her, as mundane objects like fruit and flowers take on an unsettling life of their own. Her work would eventually be categorized as “naïve” because of its simplicity, but such a term trivializes its inherent worth.

HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

Martin Provost’s wonderful new drama about the life of this forgotten French artist doesn’t make any attempts to explain her behavior, since any explanation would consist of little more than theorizing. Instead, Provost has succeeded in making a film that is itself a great work of cinematic art, portraying the woman’s troubled psyche through visual texture and emotional nuance, rather than wordy exposition. Séraphine’s body is hardened and weathered by poverty, but her heart retains a childlike wonder about the world that allows her to look beyond her discouraging surroundings. Is her work the reflection of a mind precariously balanced between blissful elation and mental illness? This is one of many questions acknowledged but never quite answered by the film, which enters Séraphine’s life just before a pivotal encounter changes it forever.

Yolande Moreau and Ulrich Tukur star in Martin Provost’s wonderful drama Séraphine.
Yolande Moreau and Ulrich Tukur star in Martin Provost’s wonderful drama Séraphine.
Photo credit: Music Box Films

The film opens in the French town of Senlis, circa 1914. A formidable German art collector, Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur), rents a room in a house stuffed with snobs, who cheerfully belittle the artwork of their disheveled maid. But when Wilhelm spots one of her portraits lying in a corner, he immediately recognizes her genius. It takes a while for Séraphine (Yolande Moreau) to take his praise seriously, and initially clings to the rhythms of her work as if to preserve her sanity. After championing the emerging Picasso and discovering Rousseau, Wilhelm becomes determined to exhibit her work. Though the approaching war cuts their plans short, Séraphine and Wilhelm reunite in 1927, just as her work has begun to reach its pinnacle.

Séraphine was released on DVD on March 23rd, 2010.
Séraphine was released on DVD on March 23rd, 2010.
Photo credit: Music Box Films

Though the film’s basic premise may sound like a traditional rags-to-riches story, it is anything but. When Séraphine finally does acquire some money, she spends it frivolously, but not out of greed. She’s had so little of it in her life that she has no real sense of its worth. But the film is not at all about whether Séraphine achieves success, financial or otherwise. It’s much more interested in the inner workings of her mind, and cinematographer Laurent Brunet subtly draws the audience into her heightened world. The town of Senlis consists primarily of grays and browns, allowing the vibrant color in Séraphine’s artwork to pop out all the more. There are memorable shots of her pleased face poking up above her richly detailed canvases, in order to witness the reaction of onlookers. Provost’s minimalist poetry may be even more rewarding upon repeat viewings, leading to a final shot as unforgettable and provocative as Peter Sellers’s walk through the water at the end of “Being There.”

Of course, no matter how good the direction or cinematography is in this type of picture, it sinks or swims on the basis of its lead performance, and Moreau is more than up to the task. She never overplays Séraphine’s eccentricities, and allows her sublimely expressive eyes to do most of the emoting. It’s the type of quietly nuanced portrayal that isn’t considered showy enough to generate Oscar buzz, though Moreau was deservedly named Best Actress by the National Society of Film Critics (take that, Sandra Bullock!).

As I fell under this film’s spell, I was reminded of Jan Troell’s recent masterwork, “Everlasting Moments,” which was also about a middle-aged woman who finds an outlet of expression through art. The final section of “Séraphine” is heartbreaking, as the deteriorating woman gradually loosens her attachment from reality. But the film is ultimately an inspiring one, proving that there’s no formula to great art other than the blueprint of one’s own mind, heart and soul.

“Séraphine” is presented in its 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is accompanied by English subtitles. The disc sadly includes no special features apart from a theatrical trailer and image gallery. A featurette about the real Séraphine or interviews with Provost and Moreau would’ve been most welcome.

‘Séraphine’ is released by Music Box Films and stars Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent, Geneviève Mnich, Nico Rogner, Adélaïde Leroux, Serge Larivière and Françoise Lebrun. It was written by Marc Abdelnour and Martin Provost and directed by Martin Provost. It was released on March 23rd, 2010. It is not rated.

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Matt Fagerholm

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

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