''Séraphine'' is a 2008 French- Belgian film directed by

Martin Provost Martin Provost (born 13 May 1957) is a French film director, writer and actor. He wrote and directed films such as '' Séraphine'' and ''Le Ventre de Juliette''. '' Violette,'' his 2013 biographical drama about author Violette Leduc, was screened ...

and written by Marc Abdelnour and Provost. It stars

Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, film director and screenwriter. She has won three César Awards from four nominations. Career She made her cinematic debut with director Agnès Varda in two movies: Sept pi� ...

as the French painter

Séraphine Louis Séraphine Louis, known as Séraphine de Senlis (Séraphine of Senlis; 3 September 1864 – 11 December 1942), was a French painter and artist. Self-taught, she was inspired by her religious faith and by stained-glass church windows and other rel ...

and

Ulrich Tukur Ulrich Tukur (born Ulrich Gerhard Scheurlen; 29 July 1957) is a German actor and musician. He is known for his roles in Michael Haneke, Michael Haneke's ''The White Ribbon'', Steven Soderbergh, Steven Soderbergh's ''Solaris (2002 film), Solaris' ...

as Wilhelm Uhde. It won the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

César Award for Best Film The winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Film ( French: ). Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * Lumière Award for Best Film * Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film * French Syndicate of Cinema ...

Plot

The film follows the life of a middle-aged housekeeper,

, who has a remarkable talent for painting. Untaught and following what she regards as religious inspiration she finds great appreciation in the beauty found in nature, especially her daily walks to work where she proudly and humbly stops to gaze at trees. In the beginning, it is noted that she stops to collect soil from plants as well as some blood from a dead pig. Later, in her small home lit by candles she is seen using these same ingredients while creating her art. At one point when her art begins to be seen, she is asked how she achieves the unusual effect in her "rouge" (reds). She replies that she prefers to keep that a secret. Uhde, a noted art critic, encounters her first as a housekeeper and then sees one of her paintings, which he regards as very promising. Séraphine feels she is just a housekeeper and no one will take her seriously, but Uhde firmly assures her she has a talent and that he will look after her and promote her work. He kindly tells her to follow her gift, but he is a German and has to flee France and leave Séraphine when the 1914 war begins. However, she continues to do her paintings. In 1927, Uhde encounters Séraphine again and considers her work to have greatly improved. He begins buying her pictures and encouraging her to do nothing but paint, giving her a generous monthly stipend. But prosperity upsets the woman's balance; she buys an expensive bridal gown even though she has no suitor, and claims to have received an important message from the angels. As the Great Depression gets under way, Uhde can no longer sell her paintings and is forced to disappoint Séraphine, who has begun to regard herself as a woman of means. She is mentally affected by the setback. After she rouses the town while wearing her bridal gown, she is put into a lunatic asylum and eventually stops painting. Uhde visits but is advised not to make contact since this would deeply upset her, even to be told that he has finally sold some of her artworks. He decides to care for her well-being and secures her a room in the institution which enables her to go outside, where she begins to enjoy the beauties of nature again. It is revealed that she died in 1942 and that her art became famous and respected.

Cast

as Wilhelm Uhde * Anne Bennent as Anne-Marie Uhde *

Geneviève Mnich Geneviève Mnich (born 19 February 1942), is a French actress. She has appeared in 80 films since 1972. She was born in Cuffies, Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northe ...

as Madame Duphot *Nico Rogner as Helmut Kolle * Adélaïde Leroux as Minouche *Serge Larivière as Duval *

Françoise Lebrun Françoise Lebrun (born 18 August 1944) is a French actress. Career She has appeared in many movies, and is especially known for her role as Veronika in Jean Eustache's '' The Mother and the Whore'' (1973). She has worked with other direc ...

as Mother Superior *

Anne Benoît Anne Benoît is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 film and television productions since 1981. Career Benoît was trained at the Conservatoire de Versailles, under the direction of Marcelle Tassencourt. She later attended the Ta ...

as Madame Delonge

Critical response

The film has received critical acclaim. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reports that 89% of 92 critics gave the film a positive review, for an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus states that "Seraphine is a well-crafted French film that effectively captures one woman's experience with art, religion, and mental illness, and features a brilliant performance from Yolande Moreau."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Jason Solomons of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that "Martin Provost's life of the painter Séraphine de Senlis is a study in subtlety worthy of Flaubert".

Awards and nominations

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

**Won: Best Actress – Leading Role (Yolande Moreau) **Won: Best Cinematography (Laurent Brunet) **Won: Best Costume Design (Madeline Fontaine) **Won: Best Film **Won: Best Music Written for a Film ( Michael Galasso) **Won: Best Production Design (Thierry François) **Won:

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

(Marc Abdelnour and Martin Provost) **Nominated:

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

(Martin Provost) **Nominated:

Best Sound The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

(Emmanuel Croset, Ingrid Ralet and Philippe Vandendriessche) *

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

**Nominated: Best Actress (Yolande Moreau) * Los Angeles Film Critics **Won: Best Actress (Yolande Moreau) *

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

**Won: Best Actress (Yolande Moreau)

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphine 2008 biographical drama films 2008 films 2000s historical drama films French biographical drama films Belgian biographical drama films Belgian historical drama films 2000s French-language films 2000s German-language films Biographical films about painters Best Film César Award winners Films featuring a Best Actress César Award–winning performance Films featuring a Best Actress Lumières Award–winning performance Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography César Award Films directed by Martin Provost Films set in France Cultural depictions of 20th-century painters Cultural depictions of French people French historical drama films 2008 drama films 2000s French films French-language Belgian films Films scored by Michael Galasso 2000s Belgian films French-language historical drama films French-language biographical drama films