Camille Claudel (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Camille Claudel

| image = Camille claudel aff.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Bruno Nuytten

| producer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Bruno Nuytten
Marilyn Goldin

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Isabelle Adjani
Gérard Depardieu
Madeleine Robinson
Laurent Grévill
Philippe Clévenot
Katrine Boorman
Roger Planchon
Jean-Pierre Sentier}}

| music = Gabriel Yared

| cinematography = Pierre Lhomme

| editing = {{Plainlist|

Joëlle Hache
Jeanne Kef

}}

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

Films Christian Fechner
Lilith Films I.A.
Gaumont
Antenne 2 TV France
Films A2
D.D. Productions

}}

| distributor = Gaumont Distribution

| released = {{Film date|df=y|1988|12|7|France}}

| runtime = 175 minutes

| country = France

| language = French

| gross = $23.7 million{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=5711|title=Camille Claudel (1988)|website=JPBox-Office|access-date=3 March 2018}}

}}

Camille Claudel is a 1988 French biographical drama film directed by Bruno Nuytten, based on a biography by Reine-Marie Paris, the granddaughter of Paul Claudel. The film stars Isabelle Adjani as sculptor Camille Claudel and Gérard Depardieu as Auguste Rodin, with Adjani also serving as co-producer.

Camille Claudel was released in France in 1988 and recorded 2,717,136 admissions. The film received critical acclaim upon release and earned Adjani a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the second of her career.

Plot

Set in late 19th-century France, the film follows the life of Camille Claudel, a talented young sculptor and the daughter of a wealthy but conservative family. With the support of her father, Claudel pursues her passion for sculpture, despite opposition from her devoutly Catholic mother. In the 1880s, she meets Auguste Rodin, and the two develop a close professional and romantic relationship.

As Claudel’s career progresses, she gains recognition in the art world while continuing to work closely with Rodin. However, their relationship begins to deteriorate due to Rodin’s increasing fame, his ongoing involvement with another woman, and Claudel’s growing frustrations with her lack of independence.

Following the death of her father, Claudel finds herself increasingly isolated, facing hostility from her mother and emotional strain from professional setbacks. Her mental health declines, and she becomes convinced that Rodin is sabotaging her career. Despite efforts by her brother Paul to support her, Claudel is eventually committed to a psychiatric institution, where she remains for the rest of her life.

Cast

Isabelle Adjani as Camille Claudel
Gérard Depardieu as Auguste Rodin
Laurent Grévill as Paul Claudel
Alain Cuny as Louis-Prosper Claudel
Madeleine Robinson as Louise-Athanaïse Claudel
Philippe Clévenot as Eugène Blot
Katrine Boorman as Jessie Lipscomb
Maxime Leroux as Claude Debussy
Danièle Lebrun as Rose Beuret
François Berléand as Doctor Michaux

Production

Principal photography began on 14 September 1987.{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/70139/camille-claudel#notes | title=Camille Claudel }}

Reception

=Critical response=

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Camille Claudel holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10.{{Cite web |title=Camille Claudel |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/camille_claudel |access-date=November 17, 2022 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film as a compelling and emotionally resonant biographical drama, singling out Isabelle Adjani’s performance as “possessed” and “extraordinary.” He noted that while the film depicted the life of a sculptor, it was ultimately more concerned with the emotional toll of genius, ambition, and gendered social expectations.{{Cite web |title=Camille Claudel movie review & film summary (1990) {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/camille-claudel-1990 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.rogerebert.com |language=en-US}} Vincent Canby of The New York Times described Camille Claudel as a “visually handsome and beautifully acted drama,” highlighting Adjani’s portrayal of Claudel’s psychological unraveling as both restrained and deeply affecting.{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=1989-12-22 |title=Review/Film; 'Camille Claudel,' a Soul's Disintegration |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/22/movies/review-film-camille-claudel-a-soul-s-disintegration.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Variety praised the film’s production values and direction, calling it a “handsomely mounted biographical drama” and commending director Bruno Nuytten’s ability to capture the inner turmoil of the title character.{{Cite web |author=Variety Staff |date=1988-01-01 |title=Camille Claudel |url=https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/camille-claudel-1200427641/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} Time Out characterized the film as a “haunting and intense historical drama,” emphasizing the strong chemistry between Adjani and Gérard Depardieu and the film’s detailed evocation of 19th-century artistic life.{{Cite news |last=GA |title=Camille Claudel |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/camille-claudel |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250217130324/https://www.timeout.com/movies/camille-claudel |archive-date=2025-02-17 |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=Time Out Worldwide |language=en-GB}}

Accolades

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

! scope="col" |Award

! scope="col" |Date of the ceremony

! scope="col" |Category

! scope="col" |Recipients

! scope="col" |Result

! class="unsortable" scope="col" |{{Refh}}

rowspan="2" |Berlin International Film Festival

| rowspan="2" |10–21 February 1989

|Golden Bear

|Camille Claudel

|{{nom}}

| rowspan="2" |{{Cite web |title=Awards |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/awards-juries/awards.html/s=1989/o=desc/p=1/rp=40 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.berlinale.de |language=en}}

Silver Bear for Best Actress

|Isabelle Adjani

|{{won}}

rowspan="11" |César Awards

| rowspan="11" |4 March 1989

|Best Film

|Camille Claudel

|{{won}}

| rowspan="11" |{{Cite web |title=César Awards 1989 |url=https://mubi.com/en/awards-and-festivals/cesars?year=1989 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=MUBI |language=en}}

Best Actor

|Gérard Depardieu

|{{nom}}

Best Actress

|Isabelle Adjani

|{{won}}

Best Supporting Actor

|{{nom}}

|{{nom}}

|Laurent Grévill

|{{nom}}

Best Cinematography

|Pierre Lhomme

|{{won}}

Best Sound

|Guillaume Sciama, Dominique Hennequin and François Groult

|{{nom}}

Best Editing

|Joëlle Hache and Jeanne Kef

|{{nom}}

Best Original Music

|Gabriel Yared

|{{nom}}

Best Production Design

|Bernard Vézat

|{{won}}

New York Film Critics Online

|14 January 1990

|Best Foreign Language Film

| rowspan="3" |Camille Claudel

|{{draw|Runner-up}}

|{{Cite web |title=New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1989 |url=https://mubi.com/en/awards-and-festivals/nyfccas?year=1989 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=MUBI |language=en}}

Golden Globe Awards

|20 January 1990

|Best Foreign Language Film

|{{nom}}

|{{Cite web |last=Easton |first=Nina J. |date=1989-12-28 |title='Fourth,' 'Harry/Sally,' 'Glory' Lead Globes Nods |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-28-ca-1653-story.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

National Board of Review

|26 February 1990

|Top 10 Foreign Films

|{{draw|2nd place}}

|{{Cite web |title=1989 Archives |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1989/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=National Board of Review |language=en-US}}

rowspan="2" |Academy Awards

| rowspan="2" |26 March 1990

|Best Actress

|Isabelle Adjani

|{{nom}}

| rowspan="2" |{{Cite web |date=2014-10-05 |title=The 62nd Academy Awards {{!}} 1990 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}

Best International Feature Film

|Camille Claudel

|{{nom}}