""Wuthering"
being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the
atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormyweather"
I have
wanted to watch “The Bronte Sisters” for a rather long time. The
fact of starring of my favorite French actresses – Isabelle Huppert
and Isabelle Adjani – was not the last factor in my desire.
Finally, I got hold of the Blu-ray edition. I have decided to
postpone the watching and read the books of the Bronte Sisters.
The history
of cinema knows many adaptation of books of the Brontes, with
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are being the most favorite. On the
other hand, there are too few adaptations of the Brontes family.
Life
appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or
registering wrongs.
Sadly,
I am not acquainted with the acting of Marie-France Pisier. This
“ignorance” made a surprise more pleasant. Charlotte Bronte is a
ultimate Jane Eyre: mature, reasonable and responsible. A quote from
the book of G.K. Chesterson perfectly describes Charlotte: “her
heroine is the commonplace spinster, with the dress of merino and the
soul of flame".
Charlotte
Bronte, as Jane Eyre, has to sacrifice the personal happiness. After
the death of her aunt and father's illness, Charlotte was obliged to
become the head of a family. She, as her fictional alter-ego, was not
broken by this and Charlotte gave us a pleasure of reading the other
Brontes. The Gods gave Charlotte a privilege of longer live,
acquaintance with great writers and marriage.
“I
see a repose that neither earth nor hell can break, and I feel an
assurance of the endless and shadowless hereafter“
While
reading “Wuthering Heights”, I imagined only one actress as
Catherine Earnshaw – Isabelle Adjani. Sadly, The Actress has not
portrayed Catherine, but she morphed her in the image of Emily
Bronte. The spectators, who got used to the “burning” Adelie Hugo
and Camille Claudel would be surprised to see Adjani into this, at
first sight calm role. During the film, Isabelle Adjani unleashes the
internal fire of Emily.
When
“Wuthering Heights” were first published a lot of critics thought
that the writer was a man. Isabelle Adjani showed the crossing of
masculine and feminine identity in Emily – dressed in a male's
outfit to walk the grey fields; even some
men say to her that she should be born as a man. Emily Bronte was the
hideous and shy woman, but her seldom outbursts were like the
northern wind. She feels the most sincere feelings towards her
brother and his death was one the main causes of her passing away.
“I
began this book with the intention of concealing nothing, that those
who liked might have the benefit of perusing a fellow creature's
heart”
The
typical spectator would associate Isabelle Huppert with Erika Kohut
and other “prostitutes, murderers, sadomasochists, fetishists and
lesbians” (plagiarizing from one Russian web-site). The Actress
played this parts with equal brilliance, but if you do a more careful
research, you would find brilliant “normal” roles. Anna Bronte
captures the text of Agnes Grey.
In
1977, Isabelle Huppert played in “The Lacemaker” and you would
find the parallels between Pomme and Anna Bronte. As Pomme, Anna
Bronte is a sweet, naive and sincere girl. The youngest Bronte works
as a governess to cruel children and parents, who treats her as a
slave. Despite all human and physical dirt, Anna keeps her spiritual
purity. She is the only person, who finds a common language with
Emily;
her
death breaks her.
“...for
it seemed as if all joy had vanished from the world, never to be
restored"
The
visual side of The Bronte Sisters reminds us of Barry Lyndon. As
Stanley Kubrick has portrayed the XVIII-century England, The Bronte
Sisters depicts Northern England of the XIX century. Andre Techine,
along with Bruno Nuitten, showed a bleak and depressive Yorkshire:
strong winds; snow; gray sky and dirt. The one could understand the
basics for Wuthering Heights by wathcing this film.
The
Bronte Sisters is a sincere film with some great acting. Sadly, back
in 1979, this film was eclipsed by Apocalypse Now; now you could
fully appreciate this film.
9/10
