Happy Birthday, Isabelle Huppert! (Une affaire de femmes)

And pray who are the judges?

Marie Latour, a woman of limited means, raises two children in a ratty flat during World War II in occupied France. In 1941, her husband Paul returns from German captivity, too weak to hold a job. Marie discovers she can make money performing abortions, using a soapy water douche. She buys better food and clothes, looks for a new flat, and, through an acquaintance, who is a prostitute, rents out her bedrooms to hookers during the day.

The film mixes two controversial themes – abortions and Vichy France. Not many directors have made films about one of those topics and even less directors have combined them. Because of that, every such film makes a splash in society and film circles.

The director doesn’t take sides and he is not trying to make a spectator disgusted or compassionate. The title of a film implies neutrality. The film perfectly depicts hypocrisy and double standards of the Vichy France. The society tries to conceal the shame of defeat by returning to so-called traditional values. But the glorious society forgot one of the main Christian values: «Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned».

Marie Latour is not a martyr or an ideal, but her struggle to make end meet is, at least, understandable. She didn’t make anyone to have an abortion; she just wanted to have a better life for herself and her children. In fact, a lot of her clients was not going to become good mothers and sparing the unborn children of hunger and misery is somehow an act of mercy. Much more despicable is Marie’s husband Paul.

Isabelle Huppert depicted Marie Latour as an ordinary woman with whom anyone could easily identify himself. She has a dream to become a singer, to have a better life and other little pleasures as anyone. The Actress has portrayed the variety of persons: the poor mother, the arrogant and successful businesswoman and the broken woman on a verge of death. Undoubtedly, this is one of the best roles of Isabelle Huppert.

I think that for the birthday of favorite actress, one should remind the viewers about one of her best roles. Join me in revisiting this unfairly forgotten film in an illustrious career of a great Isabelle Huppert.

9/10

Gabrielle

I love Gabrielle as a collector loves his most prized object.

The visit of Isabelle Huppert to Moscow was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. I have seen for two times «Les Fausses Confidences» and once again I understood, that if there were no Isabelle Huppert, it would be necessary to imagine her. The 62-year old Actress moved like a ballet dancer and her voice acting was superb. That is why, the wonderful Friday evening should be continued by watching some film with Isabelle Huppert on Saturday.

Jean and Gabrielle Harvey are married for ten years. Their marriage is a rather socially acceptable; they host the salons, take part in charity and patronage. Nevertheless, their marriage in not built on love, as Jean confides to the audience that he loves Gabrielle «as a collector loves his most prized object. » The day of the 10^th wedding anniversary goes as usual until Jean discovers a note from Gabrielle in which she writes that she will leave to meet her lover. Jean is completely lost and puzzled, but on the same evening Gabrielle comes back.

Sadly, I have not read Joseph Conrad’s original short story The Return. Even without that, the history of cinema knows many examples of stories about contract or loveless marriages, but in lots of cinema rubbish you could discover the true brilliants. From the first minutes, the film director uses an original technique. Patrice Chereau uses black-and-white and color cinema in order to distinguish between the routine and life.

Patrice Chereau made the film as a duo with «some inclusions» from outside world. Since the letter is read, the dynamite is ready and the foundation of family life is completely destroyed.  The masques of humanity are swept away and two monsters are shown. If in the beginning, Jean is only worried about societal norms, then, during the course of the film, he more and more loses his sanity and even becomes ready to rape his wife.

You could write a PhD thesis on an acting genius of Pascal Greggory and Isabelle Huppert. In «La Reine Margot», Pascal Greggory, almost without words, was able to portray an unprincipled, ruthless and power greedy Duke of Anjou. In this film, The Actor has portrayed the mental disintegration of his character, according to a standard paradigm «denial-rage-trade-depression-acceptance». Isabelle Huppert sometimes acted in not too good films, but the world doesn’t know such phrase as «bad acting of Isabelle Huppert».

«Gabrielle» is a clever and sad drama. If you are an admirer of Isabelle Huppert, watch it immediately.

8/10

Les Sœurs Brontë

""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