Camille Claudel (1988/1989)

The film recounts the troubled life of French sculptor Camille Claudel and her long relationship with legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin. [imdb]

Nominated for 2 Oscars* (*as a 1989 film):

Best Foreign Language Film (France)
Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani



 
All signs indicate that I should've liked this film more than I actually did, because it started like a... I don't want to say epic. But an impressive period piece / biographical film. It has a certain rhythm and especially two dynamic characters. But as soon as Camille has to become crazy inside the screenplay, it all gets a bit confused. It's true I saw the 158 min version, not the 175, but I doubt that's the issue. Somewhere around the second half, the screenplay stops justifying actions and behaviours, and that hurts the film.

Depardieu is quite ignorable in this role, it's all about Isabelle, nobody steals the spotlight from her; and it's indeed a flashy performance (more on it on the other blog, tomorrow). I would also mention the technical aspects, especially the production design, with all the sculptures that had to be recreated (at least most of them).


My rating for the film: 7/10. It loses its focus in the last hour.