Seraphine (updated)

For those of you who don't see the comments when you view the blog, N.W. Douglas brought the unhappy news that SERAPHINE has been and gone: it played the Ridge for a few nights this summer. Alas. But Peter Chattaway brings the happier news that it's at Videomatica. Of course. I hadn't realized the film had been out long enough to be on DVD, but of course since it has been, Videomatica's got it! Now top of my queue: Overstreet's wish is my command. (Even a visit to my local suburban movie mart yielded rental copy. So, like the Chicken Man, Seraphine appears to be everywhere.)

Oh, and Ken Morefield has a typically thoughtful, spoiler-free piece at 1More Film Blog. Posted in April. Man, am I behind the times! Must have had other things on my mind in April.

Now back to the original post...

Jeffrey Overstreet is recommending this one. With. Periods. After. Every. Word. So either his keyboard is on the blink, or he really likes it. Let's keep our eyes open and let one another know when it arrives in Vancouver, shall we? The Official Site lists showings through November, none of them north of the 49th parallel, so... Eyes peeled, soul foodies!


"Séraphine is the story of Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (Yolande Moreau), a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper who in 1905 at age 41, self-taught and with the instigation of her guardian angel began painting brilliantly colorful canvases. In 1912 Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur), a German art critic and collector - he was one of the first collectors of Picasso and champion of naïve primitive painter Le Douanier Rousseau - discovered her paintings while she worked for him as a maid in his house in Senlis outside Paris. A moving and unexpected relationship develops between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary cleaning lady leading to Séraphine’s work being grouped with other naïve painters – the so-called “Sacred Heart Painters” - with acclaimed shows in France, elsewhere in Europe and eventually at New York’s MOMA . Martin Provost’s poignant portrait of this now largely forgotten painter is a testament to the mysteries of creativity and the resilience of one woman’s spirit."
Apple Movies. There's also a trailer there.