Review: ‘Seraphine’

Seraphine is a story based on Seraphine Louis (Yolande Moreau), also knows as Seraphine de Senlis, a self taught French painter. Seraphine was a rough housekeeper in Senlis, who often painted in secret. It’s bad enough that she is the laughing stock of her town. It wasn’t until 1912 when William Unde (Ulrich Tukur), a German art collector and critic, came to stay where she was employed and accidentally discovered one of her paintings. The people in the community did not see how her work, beautiful floral arrangements, was anything special, and did not understand why Unde was so interested in it. Nonetheless, he bought all of her work and encouraged   her to pursue her talents and redirect her life to painting.

The art world owes a great deal of gratitude toward Unde for his discoveries. He was the first person to buy Picasso’s cubist work, and discovered French Impressionist Henri Rousseau. He was also one of the organizers and supporters of the Naive art movement, which is an over-simplistic, childlike style that is attributed to painters with no formal training.

The film follows Unde’s travel to Senlis, and his view of Seraphine when he thought of her as a mere housekeeper up til his transformed views of her as an artist and an individual. As he is staying in a rental house with his sister, he discovers one of Seraphines paintings on wood. He then encourages her to pursue her craft, which he is in awe of, when WWI starts, forcing him to leave France for the time. Years later, returning with his sister and his lover, he finds Seraphine who has been working on her painting. Her work is much more dynamic and appealing than before, and he decides to help her to concentrate on her work by giving her a monthly allowance so that she may quit her job to paint. As the world around her starts to crumble under financial ruin, so did her sanity. She starts to suffer from mania and eventually the disappointment of not reaching her painting goals, such as an exhibit in Paris that the growing financial crisis has postponed, seem to lead her to insanity. She soon spends a great deal of money on a wedding dress and a mansion, despite Unde having a male lover. After this she is institutionalized until her death.

The movie might be a bit too artistic and educational for some. Since I have a degree in Art Therapy it was right up my alley. The filmmaker did an amazing job of showing a connection between Seraphine and nature, which was the subject of her work. They showed her in different settings such as being naked in a river or hugging a tree to show her love and connection with nature. Through her art, and capturing her love of nature, they make this frumpy, awkward woman more beautiful and appealing. This is especially impressive since the movie is not based on dialogue. Sure there is a slight dialogue, spoken in German and French (with English subtitles of course), but the majority of the story is told through facial expressions, imagery, and music.Her art is shown as a spiritual release for Seraphine. She is connected to her work, and lets it take full control.

I enjoy the amount of time that they spend on Seraphine and her everyday chores before we learn about her art. It really helps tell the story of a seemingly ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift. There is a lot to be said about how you can find beauty in the least likely places. All you have to do is look and you might be surprised. Some might think that her story is tragic, but this film captures her journey from sanity to insanity as more of a spiritual journey. It seems that she looses herself to her driving creativity and sinks into her connection of nature. Her insanity is captured as almost beautiful and pure. This film is one big painting filled with metamorphosis, spirituality, lunacy, alienation, and the journey of self discovery.