Séraphine

Released Jun 5, 2009

2 hr. 5 min.

Biography

Drama

War

List

88%

95 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Soon-to-be-legendary primitivist painter and outsider artist Séraphine "de Senlis" Louis (Yolande Moreau) toils as a maidservant in the homes of the bourgeoisie in Senlis, France. For decades, Louis harbors a secret passion for painting in the evenings after work -- one that is discovered serendipitously by renowned German art collector Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur). Taken by the woman's enormous talent, Uhde becomes determined to bring Louis' art to the world -- and to change her life.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Audience Member

Indubitably it's all Yolande Moreau uplifting the film to the next level.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

(Substitled) True story of French housecleaner who, at 41, starts painting. Handles mental illness with tact and compassion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

EBERT: "I've seen many films hoping to understand the nature of great artists; one that comes close is "Vincent: The Life And Death Of Vincent Van Gogh" by Paul Cox. This is another."

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie is visually stunning. Each shot is a framable work of art. The pace reflects the time and place and her inevitable bad fortune telegraphed just well enough. Actress is superb.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I enjoyed this French film very much. Movie looked beautiful and the acting was excellent, overall the film is a must see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Audience Member

Fascinating biopic. Allowed me to discover the amazing work of an artist whom I did not know anything about.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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Martin Provost

Director

Yolande Moreau

Séraphine Louis

Ulrich Tukur

Wilhelm Uhde

Anne Bennent

Anne-Marie Uhde

Geneviève Mnich

Mme Duphot

Nico Rogner

Helmut Kolle

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Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Richard Nilsen

Arizona Republic

What makes this slow, intense film so compelling is its persuasive creation of complex characters: You scarcely believe Moreau is an actor and that the film isn't, on some level, archival footage of the real painter.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 29, 2010

Full Review

Eddie Cockrell

Variety

A naive, between-the-wars French painter is brought to vivid life in the satisfying fact-inspired drama Seraphine.

Dec 17, 2009

Full Review

Kelly Jane Torrance

Washington Times

Although slowly told, Seraphine never drags.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 6, 2018

Full Review

Sarah Manvel

Critic's Notebook

It's great we're learning about Séraphine Louis and that her work is finally being appreciated on its own terms. But as a movie, this doesn't work at all.

Aug 9, 2018

Full Review

Jeffrey Overstreet

Filmwell

Provost's film has few equals in depicting the dangerous territory between artistic inspiration and madness.

Rated: A

Jun 15, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

Soon-to-be-legendary primitivist painter and outsider artist Séraphine "de Senlis" Louis (Yolande Moreau) toils as a maidservant in the homes of the bourgeoisie in Senlis, France. For decades, Louis harbors a secret passion for painting in the evenings after work -- one that is discovered serendipitously by renowned German art collector Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur). Taken by the woman's enormous talent, Uhde becomes determined to bring Louis' art to the world -- and to change her life.

Director: Martin Provost
Screenwriter: Marc Abdelnour, Martin Provost
Distributor: Music Box Films
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 5, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 20, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $883.3K

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