Séraphine (film)

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Movie
German title Séraphine
Original title Séraphine
Country of production France , Belgium
original language French , German
Publishing year 2008
length 125 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Martin Provost
script Martin Provost,
Marc Abdelnour
production Milena Poylo ,
Gilles Sacuto
music Michael Galasso
camera Laurent Brunet
cut Ludo Troch
occupation
synchronization

Séraphine is a French - Belgian biography by Martin Provost from 2008 about the painter Séraphine Louis (1864–1942). In the title role is Yolande Moreau , who received numerous awards for her performance.

action

The German art collector Wilhelm Uhde moved from Paris to the French provincial town of Senlis in 1912 in order to relax from hectic city life and to be able to write in peace. His new cleaning lady Séraphine Louis, an inconspicuous middle-aged woman, is very idiosyncratic, speaks to trees and is ridiculed by most in Senlis for her peculiarities. One day Uhde finds a picture that Séraphine painted in her spare time. He was immediately convinced of her unusual style and absolutely wanted to promote her, as he did with Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau .

When the First World War broke out, however, Uhde and his sister Anne-Marie had to flee to Germany. Uhde did not return to France until 1927 to take possession of the art collection that he had to leave behind. Uhde, who now lives with a man, is certain that Séraphine has already passed away. He discovered her work in an art exhibition in Senlis and finally found the now 63-year-old again. Séraphine, who is particularly fond of painting flowers and fruits, has now developed further in her style, but still has to work as a simple cleaning lady. As a patron, Uhde gives her access to the established art scene and also offers her a higher standard of living.

However, when the Great Depression set in, Uhde was unable to exhibit her pictures in Paris and could no longer finance her lavish lifestyle. In the following years, Séraphines peculiarities develop into obsessions and she gradually begins to go crazy. Your neighbors eventually call the police. Séraphine is then admitted to a mental hospital, where she spends the rest of her life. Uhde visits her and tries to speak to her, but the doctors advise against it, as they believe that art has driven Séraphine mad. Uhde ensures that Séraphine has the best room in the facility, from where she can continue to have access to the nature that has always inspired her.

background

Séraphine Louis, also known under the name Séraphine de Senlis, is one of the most important representatives of naive art in France, alongside Henri Rousseau . Director Martin Provost was made aware of the painter by a friend who worked as a producer for the radio station France Culture . After initial research on the Internet, Provost decided to film Séraphine's life and artistic work. An essay written about Séraphine by the psychoanalyst Françoise Cloarec, who was acquainted with Wilhelm Uhde's sister Anne-Marie and had received letters and other documents from her, was Provost's main source for the screenplay written by him and Marc Abdelnour . When writing the script, Provost placed particular emphasis on not 'telling' the painter's life "as a sequence of strong moments", but rather "spinning the narrative along with little trifles [...] and creating such small puzzles". The “surprising, ambivalent and chaste relationship” of two outsiders like Séraphine and Wilhelm Uhde should also become a central theme. Regarding the approach, Provost also said:

“Our work consisted precisely in walking the tightrope, not to make it easy for ourselves and to lapse into feeling and hysteria, as it often happens when madness is portrayed in a film. So delete rather than add and stay true to our shared vision of the character from the start: her demanding career, her weaknesses, her courage, in short, everything that impressed and moved us about Séraphine. "

- Director Martin Provost
The Cathedral of Senlis , a setting for the film

The shooting took place in the French towns of Senlis, Crécy-la-Chapelle and Dampsmesnil . The budget was 3.6 million euros. According to Provost, Belgian actress Yolande Moreau was certain of the title role from the start. During the shoot, Provost insisted on simple equipment, costumes and lighting and "as few effects as possible" in order to create a reserved portrait of the painter so that "the viewer could move freely with her". The costumes were kept in green, blue and black. Only Séraphine's pictures should show warm colors. Provost didn't want too many cuts or unnecessary camera movements.

Séraphine premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2008 . In France, where Séraphine was released on October 1, 2008, the film was a critical and audience hit and received seven Césars , including in the Best Picture category . In Germany, the film biography was shown for the first time on November 11, 2008 at the French Film Festival Tübingen-Stuttgart . Worldwide the film grossed a total of 9.3 million dollars at the box office. In the course of its publication, Séraphine's pictures were shown for the first time in a solo exhibition in Paris at the Musée Maillol in over 60 years.

In 2009, French art historian Alain Vircondelet made plagiarism charges against the film's producers and Martin Provost. Passages from Vircondelet's biography about Séraphine were included in the script without his permission. The case was brought to court. The verdict came in November 2010. Accordingly, nine passages in the script showed a strong similarity in wording. Due to this copyright infringement, the production company TS Productions and Provost had to pay compensation of 25,000 euros to Vircondelet and a further 25,000 euros to Vircondelets Verlag Albin Michel in addition to the court costs.

Reviews

Le Nouvel Observateur described the film as a “perfectly finished work”, the composition and lighting of which would “at times be reminiscent of the paintings of the great Flemish masters”. According to Le Monde , Yolande Moreau shows "at her best" in the film. However, one should "not forget the performance of the German actor Ulrich Tukur". The lexicon of international film found that the film was "[b] brilliantly photographed and brilliantly played". He shows “the presumptuousness of contemporary thinking and subjects the historical idea of ​​an 'unadulterated originality' to a fundamental revision”.

For Cinema , Séraphine was an “unspectacular film that tells its story in calm images and without pathos”. Prisma pointed to "weaknesses in the staging". Nevertheless, “director Martin Provost managed to create an interesting portrait of the almost unknown artist Séraphine Louis”. This is considered "an important, because early representative of 'naive art'", which is "convincingly portrayed by Yolande Moreau" in the film. AO Scott of the New York Times concluded that the film escaped "the clichés of the genre". Moreau's game is "passionate, humorous and heartbreaking".

Awards

Yolande Moreau at the 2009 Étoile d'Or
César 2009

Won:

Nominated:

Cairo International Film Festival
  • Award in the category Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
Chlotrudis Award
Dublin Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
Étoile d'Or
  • Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
European Film Award 2009
Film Fest Gent
  • Nominated for the Grand Prix in the Best Film category
Globes de Cristal
  • Nominated in the category Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
National Society of Film Critics Award
Newport Beach Film Festival
  • Jury Award in the Best Film category
  • Jury Award in the Best Director category (Martin Provost)
  • Jury Award in the Best Screenplay Category (Martin Provost)
  • Jury Award in the category Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)
  • Jury Award in the Best Actor category (Ulrich Tukur)
Prix ​​Lumières
Scottsdale International Film Festival
  • Audience Award (Martin Provost)
Women Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best foreign film by or about women

German version

The German dubbed version was created at Studio Hamburg Synchron based on the dialogue book by Beate Klöckner , who also directed the dialogue.

role actor Voice actor
Séraphine Louis Yolande Moreau Marion Martienzen
Wilhelm Uhde Ulrich Tukur Ulrich Tukur
Anne-Marie Uhde Anne Bennent Anne Bennent
Madame Duphot Geneviève Mnich Micaëla Kreißler
Helmut Kolle Nico Rogner Nico Rogner
Minouche Adélaïde Leroux Mia Diekow
Duval Serge Larivière Volker Bogdan
Mother Superior Françoise Lebrun Karin Lieneweg

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Séraphine . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2009 (PDF; test number: 120 932 K).
  2. ↑ a b cf. Interview with Martin Provost in the press material on kinomachtschule.at (PDF file, p. 5; 520 kB)
  3. ↑ cf. Interview with Martin Provost in the press material on kinomachtschule.at (PDF file, p. 6; 520 kB)
  4. ↑ cf. jpbox-office.com
  5. ↑ a b c cf. Interview with Martin Provost in the press material on kinomachtschule.at (PDF file, pp. 5–9; 520 kB)
  6. ↑ cf. Interview with Martin Provost in the press material on kinomachtschule.at (PDF file, p. 8; 520 kB)
  7. ↑ cf. boxofficemojo.com
  8. ↑ Agence France-Presse : “Séraphine”: condamnations pour plagiat . In: Le Figaro , November 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ “[U] ne oeuvre parfaitement aboutie […] la composition et le travail sur la lumière rappelant parfois les toiles des grands maîtres flamands.” Le Nouvel Observateur quoted. According to the press review on toutlecine.com ( memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ^ "[Yolande Moreau] donne toute sa mesure. […] [I] l ne faut pas sous estimer la contribution de l'acteur allemand Ulrich Tukur. “ Le Monde quoted. According to the press review on toutlecine.com ( memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ Séraphine. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 19, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  12. ↑ cf. cinema.de
  13. ↑ cf. prisma.de
  14. ↑ “ Séraphine escapes entirely from the genre's default settings. […] Ms. Moreau's performance […] is passionate, humorous and heartbreaking. " AO Scott : The Vision of an Uncanny Painter . In: The New York Times , June 4, 2009.
  15. ↑ Séraphine. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing index , accessed on May 17, 2020 .