Seraphine

Seraphine (2008) starring Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur. Seraphine (Moreau) is a menial housekeeper by day, but by night she paints -- and German art critic Wilhelm Uhde (Tukur) sees her work and immediately sees that it is the painting of a genius. He is all set to give her career a big boost when World War I breaks out, and he must flee. The scene skips to 1927. Uhde has returned, but he assumes that Seraphine must be dead by now. Then he goes to a local exhibition and sees her work on display there. He seeks her out and begins selling her work. Briefly, Seraphine prospers; then comes the Market Crash of 1929 and the financial distress that follows. In the end, Seraphine goes mad and is confined to an asylum, where she eventually dies. But that doesn't detract from the quality of her painting, and she is still an honored 20th-century painter, known as Seraphine de Senlis. Nor does it detract from the powerful appeal of this movie, which tells her factual story in an engaging fashion and holds our interest until the end. (In French, with English subtitles.) Grade: B+