Reviews (20)

A Classic, Period!
One of Isabelle Adjani's best qualities is that no matter what character she plays, she's always convincing. 1988's "Camille Claudel" is probably her most passionate, convincing performance. From the film's moving start, to its tragic end, there is never a dull moment. Easily handling a full range of emotions, Adjani manages to charm us, sadden us and even frighten us. This is a long movie but never once did I tire of it or lose intrest. Before this movie, I had no idea who Camille Claudel was. After seeing it, I was moved to find out as much about her and her sculptures as I possibly could. Along with Adjani, Gerard Depardieu deserves credit for his outstanding performance as Rodin. Production values are meticulous right down to the smallest details. While several great movies come out every year, very few "classics" manage to break through. "Camille Claudel" is one of those who thank God, managed to do so.

Good!
Camille Claudel is a must-see. There are various topics in it that make this film interesting: the struggle of women artists of that time; the influence of Rodin on her artistic and personal life; her father's support and insight for his daughter; insanity as product of social misconception on females' role in the art world.

Great acting and a superb story. The only drawback is that it seems to be told entirely by the 'pro-Claudel's side of view'. In spite of that, this is still a movie that has depth and gives an accurate picture of that passion and conflict for being a fine artist.

Passionate, Creative and Tragic, A True Art Movie
I began watching this film on a late night of insomnia....it didn't help me to sleep and that's a good thing!

Isabelle Adjani artfully plays real life French sculpturess, Camille Claudel. She displays pure emotion and passionate reactions such that she is completely believable as the tragic yet talented Claudel. Claudel becomes Auguste Rodin's assistant and eventual lover/muse. They fight and compete for fame together and seperately with Claudel always the more talented but underscored by Rodin's jealously and fierce connections to the art world. In the end Claudel succumbs to a broken and ravaged heart betrayed in many ways by her one true love, Rodin.

I recently returned from a trip to Paris and having seen first hand the sculptures created by Claudel and Rodin I am even more impressed with this tragic story of talented yet conflicted artists. To see the obvious gentleness with which Claudel can carve marble and to feel the warmth that stems from a slab of cold stone left me mesmerized by her talent. Rodin appears clumsy and inept next to her creations despite his world reknown fame. I will always wonder what a woman of her talent could have created had she been alive today and not under the influence of an egotistical maniac!

'Camille' est magnifique!
As a French major, this is an excellent film. The language is clear (the nudity is a little inappropriate for some ages, though). I've seen this film twice some months apart and each time it was certainly engaging.

The pace was a little frustrating near the end, but considering the topic at hand (the demise of a promising artist), it is understandable. What does make an impression are the images. Many of the scenes have almost a photographic quality - very nice cinematography. The relationship between Camille and Rodin is very full of little nuances that keep the viewer engaged, too.

This is a great film for pleasure, an art classroom or a history class. Obviously, francophiles would love it, were they to see it!

Good Movie
I saw the movie on cable and it was a fascinating story about the sculptress Camille Claudel and her lover Renoir. She was a talented artist in the beginning with ambitions. Then she gets involved with Renoir, a womanizing artist and a married man. She forgets herself in his world and when he doesn't choose between her and his wife, she leaves feeling as if he is at fault for her waning popularity. Claudel was a talented artist of her day when women were considered second-class citizens and encouraged by her father to be the person she was. Unfortunately, she came across disappointment and mental distress when her relationship with Renoir ended. While she was his mistress, she wasn't herself, and without him, she lost her spirit. Her brother, who was considered the troublemaker, made himself a well-known person in diplomacy and literature. The movie examines the close relationship between Paul and his sister. It was sad that her relationship with her mother was never restored. She always felt she was a threat to her because of her work. Her father was supportive through and through. What disappointed him was the daughter that changed into someone else's shadow. Camille was a gifted woman of her time. Had she kept her sanity and let go of the demons, she would have maintained high status as Collette. The movie was a very interesting movie to watch. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A Classic, Period!
One of Isabelle Adjani's best qualities is that no matter what character she plays, she's always convincing. 1988's "Camille Claudel" is probably her most passionate, convincing performance. From the film's moving start, to its tragic end, there is never a dull moment. Easily handling a full range of emotions, Adjani manages to charm us, sadden us and even frighten us. This is a long movie but never once did I tire of it or lose intrest. Before this movie, I had no idea who Camille Claudel was. After seeing it, I was moved to find out as much about her and her sculptures as I possibly could. Along with Adjani, Gerard Depardieu deserves credit for his outstanding performance as Rodin. Production values are meticulous right down to the smallest details. While several great movies come out every year, very few "classics" manage to break through. "Camille Claudel" is one of those who thank God, managed to do so.

Good!
Camille Claudel is a must-see. There are various topics in it that make this film interesting: the struggle of women artists of that time; the influence of Rodin on her artistic and personal life; her father's support and insight for his daughter; insanity as product of social misconception on females' role in the art world.

Great acting and a superb story. The only drawback is that it seems to be told entirely by the 'pro-Claudel's side of view'. In spite of that, this is still a movie that has depth and gives an accurate picture of that passion and conflict for being a fine artist.

Passionate, Creative and Tragic, A True Art Movie
I began watching this film on a late night of insomnia....it didn't help me to sleep and that's a good thing!

Isabelle Adjani artfully plays real life French sculpturess, Camille Claudel. She displays pure emotion and passionate reactions such that she is completely believable as the tragic yet talented Claudel. Claudel becomes Auguste Rodin's assistant and eventual lover/muse. They fight and compete for fame together and seperately with Claudel always the more talented but underscored by Rodin's jealously and fierce connections to the art world. In the end Claudel succumbs to a broken and ravaged heart betrayed in many ways by her one true love, Rodin.

I recently returned from a trip to Paris and having seen first hand the sculptures created by Claudel and Rodin I am even more impressed with this tragic story of talented yet conflicted artists. To see the obvious gentleness with which Claudel can carve marble and to feel the warmth that stems from a slab of cold stone left me mesmerized by her talent. Rodin appears clumsy and inept next to her creations despite his world reknown fame. I will always wonder what a woman of her talent could have created had she been alive today and not under the influence of an egotistical maniac!

'Camille' est magnifique!
As a French major, this is an excellent film. The language is clear (the nudity is a little inappropriate for some ages, though). I've seen this film twice some months apart and each time it was certainly engaging.

The pace was a little frustrating near the end, but considering the topic at hand (the demise of a promising artist), it is understandable. What does make an impression are the images. Many of the scenes have almost a photographic quality - very nice cinematography. The relationship between Camille and Rodin is very full of little nuances that keep the viewer engaged, too.

This is a great film for pleasure, an art classroom or a history class. Obviously, francophiles would love it, were they to see it!

Good Movie
I saw the movie on cable and it was a fascinating story about the sculptress Camille Claudel and her lover Renoir. She was a talented artist in the beginning with ambitions. Then she gets involved with Renoir, a womanizing artist and a married man. She forgets herself in his world and when he doesn't choose between her and his wife, she leaves feeling as if he is at fault for her waning popularity. Claudel was a talented artist of her day when women were considered second-class citizens and encouraged by her father to be the person she was. Unfortunately, she came across disappointment and mental distress when her relationship with Renoir ended. While she was his mistress, she wasn't herself, and without him, she lost her spirit. Her brother, who was considered the troublemaker, made himself a well-known person in diplomacy and literature. The movie examines the close relationship between Paul and his sister. It was sad that her relationship with her mother was never restored. She always felt she was a threat to her because of her work. Her father was supportive through and through. What disappointed him was the daughter that changed into someone else's shadow. Camille was a gifted woman of her time. Had she kept her sanity and let go of the demons, she would have maintained high status as Collette. The movie was a very interesting movie to watch. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Miss Claudel has become a master."
"She has the talent of a man."
"She's a witch."

And so Auguste Rodin and friends neatly sum up the sad trajectory of Camille Claudel's career.

We first meet the sculptor as she digs clay with bare fingers from a frozen ditch, in the winter of 1885. By the time the film leaves her, in 1913, she's an acclaimed, if socially scorned, artist who's been committed to an asylum.

In the interim, Claudel (Isabelle Adjani) falls in love with the famous, older, womanizing Rodin (Gérard Depardieu). Claudel abandons her work to assist the creatively bankrupt Rodin, filling in as his muse, assistant, and lover. When pregnancy forces Claudel to ask him to choose between her and his longtime mistress, he won't, she leaves, and their alliance ends. This proves to be the turning point for Claudel's mental health; when her affair with Rodin ends, she begins her intimacy with insanity.

As her madness blooms, so do her long-neglected sculptures, which seem to come to life in her hands and arms. Not only a potent love story, Camille Claudel is also an account of art and its wellsprings, and this is where it excels, especially when we witness Claudel's manic genius at work, driven by the necessity to externalize her emotions in the forms of her sculptures.

In the end, the viewer wonders about the causes of Claudel's madness: was it genes, or her reaction against society's mores, or the product of Rodin's persecution? Or, as one exasperated family member terms it, was it "the madness of mud"?--Stefanie Durbin ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A Classic, Period!
One of Isabelle Adjani's best qualities is that no matter what character she plays, she's always convincing. 1988's "Camille Claudel" is probably her most passionate, convincing performance. From the film's moving start, to its tragic end, there is never a dull moment. Easily handling a full range of emotions, Adjani manages to charm us, sadden us and even frighten us. This is a long movie but never once did I tire of it or lose intrest. Before this movie, I had no idea who Camille Claudel was. After seeing it, I was moved to find out as much about her and her sculptures as I possibly could. Along with Adjani, Gerard Depardieu deserves credit for his outstanding performance as Rodin. Production values are meticulous right down to the smallest details. While several great movies come out every year, very few "classics" manage to break through. "Camille Claudel" is one of those who thank God, managed to do so.

Good!
Camille Claudel is a must-see. There are various topics in it that make this film interesting: the struggle of women artists of that time; the influence of Rodin on her artistic and personal life; her father's support and insight for his daughter; insanity as product of social misconception on females' role in the art world.

Great acting and a superb story. The only drawback is that it seems to be told entirely by the 'pro-Claudel's side of view'. In spite of that, this is still a movie that has depth and gives an accurate picture of that passion and conflict for being a fine artist.

Passionate, Creative and Tragic, A True Art Movie
I began watching this film on a late night of insomnia....it didn't help me to sleep and that's a good thing!

Isabelle Adjani artfully plays real life French sculpturess, Camille Claudel. She displays pure emotion and passionate reactions such that she is completely believable as the tragic yet talented Claudel. Claudel becomes Auguste Rodin's assistant and eventual lover/muse. They fight and compete for fame together and seperately with Claudel always the more talented but underscored by Rodin's jealously and fierce connections to the art world. In the end Claudel succumbs to a broken and ravaged heart betrayed in many ways by her one true love, Rodin.

I recently returned from a trip to Paris and having seen first hand the sculptures created by Claudel and Rodin I am even more impressed with this tragic story of talented yet conflicted artists. To see the obvious gentleness with which Claudel can carve marble and to feel the warmth that stems from a slab of cold stone left me mesmerized by her talent. Rodin appears clumsy and inept next to her creations despite his world reknown fame. I will always wonder what a woman of her talent could have created had she been alive today and not under the influence of an egotistical maniac!

'Camille' est magnifique!
As a French major, this is an excellent film. The language is clear (the nudity is a little inappropriate for some ages, though). I've seen this film twice some months apart and each time it was certainly engaging.

The pace was a little frustrating near the end, but considering the topic at hand (the demise of a promising artist), it is understandable. What does make an impression are the images. Many of the scenes have almost a photographic quality - very nice cinematography. The relationship between Camille and Rodin is very full of little nuances that keep the viewer engaged, too.

This is a great film for pleasure, an art classroom or a history class. Obviously, francophiles would love it, were they to see it!

Good Movie
I saw the movie on cable and it was a fascinating story about the sculptress Camille Claudel and her lover Renoir. She was a talented artist in the beginning with ambitions. Then she gets involved with Renoir, a womanizing artist and a married man. She forgets herself in his world and when he doesn't choose between her and his wife, she leaves feeling as if he is at fault for her waning popularity. Claudel was a talented artist of her day when women were considered second-class citizens and encouraged by her father to be the person she was. Unfortunately, she came across disappointment and mental distress when her relationship with Renoir ended. While she was his mistress, she wasn't herself, and without him, she lost her spirit. Her brother, who was considered the troublemaker, made himself a well-known person in diplomacy and literature. The movie examines the close relationship between Paul and his sister. It was sad that her relationship with her mother was never restored. She always felt she was a threat to her because of her work. Her father was supportive through and through. What disappointed him was the daughter that changed into someone else's shadow. Camille was a gifted woman of her time. Had she kept her sanity and let go of the demons, she would have maintained high status as Collette. The movie was a very interesting movie to watch. ... Read more