Bruno Dumont‘s latest drama titled Camille Claudel, 1915 is one of the titles premiered in competition at this year's Berlinale. And, as usual when we have Juliette Binoche on board – we expect to see another powerful and intense story.
I read a description of the film: Historical. Based on a true story. That's enough for me! If you share my opinion, check out the rest of this report to see some great images and a teaser trailer!
Written and directed by Bruno Dumont, this French drama is set in 1915 and centers on a woman named Camille Claudel, confined by her family to an asylum in the South of France (where she will never sculpt again) as she waits for a visit from her brother.
Here's the full synopsis:
“In the cold light of winter, 1915 Camille Claudel bends down once again to pick up a stone and examine it. It's almost as if we are watching a sculptor at work: in her mind she appears to be transforming this simple piece of rock into something new. But then she drops the stone, never to create her art again.
This woman's obsession with the idea that she is being persecuted by those who envy her – as well as by her former lover, Auguste Rodin – has prompted her family to commit her to a psychiatric clinic in the south of France. The film chronicles her endless vigil, hoping to find understanding and recognition as an artist, but also to receive a visit from her beloved brother, the writer Paul Claudel.”
The correspondence between this famous brother and sister provided the inspiration for Bruno Dumont's film. Once again, director has elected to work with non-professional actors: mentally handicapped people play the patients at the clinic and therefore partially themselves.
The camera rarely ventures outside the thick walls of the institution, behind which a woman has been incarcerated; her creativity withering away. And perhaps therein lies the real madness.
Beside Juliette Binoche who plays Camille and Jean-Luc Vincent who stars as her brother Paul, Camille Claudel, 1915 also stars Emmanuel Kauffman, Marion Keller, Armelle Leroy-Rolland and Robert Leroy.
The movie is set to open on March 13th, 2013 in France.
Stay tuned for US release date!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DJQmCK6AJw[/youtube]
