A Brief Film Review -- Séraphine

Those who know me know I'm not a huge movie fan, but I do watch movies in French (some from Netflix, but mostly on TV5 Monde).  This weekend Suzie and I went to the Rialto to see a French movie called Séraphine.  Based on the remarkable and true story of the French artist Séraphine Louis (also known as Séraphine de Senlis), the movie slowly absorbs you into the mind and life of the central character.  Winner of 7 César awards (the French equivalent of the Oscars), including Best Picture and Best Actress, the movie includes a one-in-a-lifetime performance by Yolande Moreau, who brings the difficult character of Séraphine to life in a way that is both utterly realistic and yet somehow mythical.  It is a story about struggle, creativity, religion, human decency, money, class, nature, and madness, beautifully filmed and directed.  One of those few films that stays in your mind afterwards; one of those films that you leave thinking, "That could not have been more perfectly made."  For you non-Francophones, fear not -- the story moves as much through pictures and scenes as through words, making the subtitles tolerable.  A definite recommend very highly.