Camille Claudel (1989)

Former cinematographer Bruno Nuytten's directorial debut from 1988 which gained two Academy Award nominations in 1989, is based on the novel "Camille Claudel" by Reine-Marie Paris, grand-daughter of Camille Claudel's brother Paul Claudel, which was adapted by Bruno Nuytten and Marylin Goldin. Isabelle Adjani won the Silver Berlin Bear at the 39th Berlin Film Festival in 1989 for her role in this film which tells the story about French sculptor Camille Claudel (1864-1943) and her relationship with impressionist sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) who became her teacher and lover during the early 19th century in Paris, France before the First World War.With warm, colorful visuals, atmospheric music and detailed milieu depictions, this precisely filmed character-driven drama finely captures the era it portrays and the development of an historic figure who became a true artist. Isabelle Adjani's interpretation of an ardent and self-disciplined young woman raised in a middle-class family who struggled with her art and with her love is remarkable, and so is Gérard Depardieu's performance as the love of her life Auguste Rodin. Their acting is solely reason enough to see this interesting and well told biographical period piece which centres on an unusually crafted love-story between two great artists.

While and after seeing Camille Claudel, one wonders if one should celebrate the artist that could have been, or rather mourn the moronic hypocrites populating her world. A world whose Marquesean death was foretold.Almost everyone played by the supporting cast displayed (or tried to hide) how acutely and incurably they were suffering with diseases, physical and mental. With the sole and occasional exception of her father, everyone else treated the artist in a less than human manner. Despot mother, Hypocrite brother, Deceitful love! What real treasures had this Genius woman of her times to cope with! To top it all she happened to be living in such a dysfunctional society which years later, a great filmmaker and artist of the same nation, Jean Renoir, was to label as "corrupt to the core". Amen to Renoir. This film like most any other film depicting the real dilemma of a society, makes one pay an additional salute to his Le Regle Du Ju.

This film is beyond beautiful and beyond heartbreaking. After 19 years, it still tears the heart right out of me. I first saw "Camille Claudel" while it was on it's Oscar campaign in 1990 for "Best Foreign Film" and "Best Actress - Isabelle Adjani". I hadn't really begun to appreciate foreign film yet so I had no idea what to expect. What I saw was an angel beyond description giving one of the greatest acting performances I had EVER seen, still to this day. This film is heart-wrenching in it's beauty and romantic tragedy. In fact it makes art of it. I went back to the theater to watch it six times, I even dragged friends along. Yes the film was brilliant, but what I went back to see was perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever seen on the big screen. Isabelle Adjani's beauty in this film is breath-taking and her performance is one of the most intense and deeply moving in history. I have this film on VHS and DVD. I still love to watch it.

Spoilers herein.Like the life it depicts, this has flashes of brilliance but is overall a failure. On the plus side, we have an appealing enough actress who has what it takes to convince her she would be desirable to Rodin. But there is no conveyance of the realities and burdens of talent, no glimpses into the mind of madness and creative genius. There is a nice, somewhat sculptural framing, beginning with the `stealing' clay from a workmens' ditch (and hen going to incestual, erotic visual poetry. This is recalled near the end with her similarly burying her work.But in between is rather dull, predictable march through some events. What a great film this could have been.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.