Here
in New York, both the Met and the MoMA have casts of Auguste Rodin’s Monument to Balzac. It must be among the
few common pieces held in both collections, but it makes sense both museums
would want it. It is commonly referred to as the first truly modern sculpture,
but the contemporary reaction was far less laudatory. The evolution of the
iconic work becomes the central narrative line of Jacques Doillon’s Rodin (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
In
1880, Rodin is already recognized in many quarters as a master, but not by
French society universally. Life is not bad. He has received a game-changing commission
in The Gates of Hell and his
relationship with his protégé-lover Camille Claudel has not turned completely
toxic yet. Unfortunately, that will change in a few short years. Rodin will also
receive the Balzac commission that will inspire and frustrate him for years to
come.
Claudel
has been the subject of two previous films, Bruno Nuytten’s 1986 Camille Claudel, starring Isabelle
Adjani and Bruno Dumont’s Camille Claudel,1915, starring Juliette Binoche, so it is time Rodin got some equal time. Although
Vincent Lindon hardly portrays him as a saint, Doillon’s screenplay clearly
suggests Claudel was severely emotionally disturbed and Rodin went to considerable
lengths to support her. Meanwhile, the philistines kept hounding him for a
conventionally idolized statue of Balzac.
Lindon
is quite forceful as Rodin, nicely conveying both his rough-hewn working-class
roots and his artistic sensibilities (for lack of a better term). Initially, he
looks rather craggy for a forty-year-old, but people aged quicker in the 19th
Century. He also develops some rather complicated but surprisingly warm
chemistry with Séverine Caneele as his rustic common law wife, Rose Beuret.
Contemporary critics might find her simple devotion troubling, but it is
historically accurate (and again, the 19th Century was an entirely
different era, especially for a middle-aged woman with limited resources). Likewise,
Claudel gets no PR favors from Doillon’s treatment. Izïa Higelin is an
underwhelming screen presence opposite Lindon—and inevitable comparisons to
Adjani and Binoche will not do her any favors either.
There
are some beautiful moments in Rodin,
such as his lunch with his Modernist colleagues, in which he bucks up the
spirits of a dejected Cézanne, briefly but memorably played by Arthur
Nauzyciel. However, there is no getting around the stately slowness of Doillon’s
pacing. If you want to soak up the details of Rodin’s meticulously recreated
studio than this film will be your heart’s desire, but if you want brisk
scandal, go back to Nuytten. (Also, at the risk of sounding like a goody-two-shoes,
there is a ridiculously gratuitous sex scene, but perhaps it helps maintain
Doillon’s provocative reputation.)
Regardless,
Doillon’s Rodin will give most
viewers a greater appreciation of the vision and sweat equity that went into
the artist’s remarkable body of work, which cinematographer Christophe
Beaucarne often frames in suitably dramatic ways. Recommended for serious
admirers of the artist and lead actor, Rodin
opens this Friday (6/1) in New York, at the Quad Cinema.
