Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

We absolutely loved every single minute of this film. It is a quiet, sweet story, and a true one. Now we want to go and visit the museum where her paintings are exhibited!

the presence of Yolande Moreau becomes more important after the end of film. because her Seraphine is more than a character. it represents people and searches, colors and hopes. a film about art who defines the survive of a poor woman. far to be a great movie, it is only vehicle for noble idea. nothing new. nothing seductive. only a story about limits and need to e yourself against the expectations of the others. the film of Yolande Moreau. touching, sad, strange, soft. a biography who has nothing special. only the colors of paintings, the landscapes and the search of the manner to discover yourself to the other.a film about insignificant people. beautiful . but out of the ordinary expectations about a film about artists.

Séraphine is a French-Belgian production about the housekeeper turned artist of the same name, who first gained fame between the last two World Wars. Creating films about famous artists are difficult since they're inherently not very dramatic. Highlighting the beauty of the artist's creation is one thing but designing a full-fledged drama concerning the artist and his/her interactions with the people they knew, could be problematic.While I would not call the story of Séraphine a gripping tale where you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, it does manage to hold your interest, despite its languid pace. It's in fact, a very well- crafted biopic, that features some sensational cinematography.The story is rather simple. Séraphine is a devoted Catholic, middle-aged housekeeper who also happens to be a talented painter. She collects some of the ingredients for her paint from unusual sources including wax from candles in her local church, soil from plants and blood from a dead pig. One of the lodgers in a house she services is Uhde, an up and coming art critic and collector from Germany, who recognizes Séraphine's potential, despite disparaging remarks made about her artwork by the local gentry. Uhde even buys a few of Séraphine's paintings but eventually loses all his art possessions when World War I begins and he's forced to flee France, back to Germany.When Uhde returns to France between the wars in 1927, he looks Séraphine up again and notes her skills have improved a hundred fold. Now she's creating large works of art on giant canvasses. For a time, Uhde is able to have Séraphine's artwork shown in well-known galleries and pays her money where she's able to rent her own apartment. The onset of the Depression causes the art market to collapse and Uhde is no longer able to provide Séraphine with financial support. This perhaps precipitates the onset of her mental illness and eventually Séraphine has to be hospitalized. Her treatment at the hospital is not good and she falls deeper into psychosis. Uhde finally is able to sell some of Séraphine's paintings by around 1935 and uses the proceeds to make her more comfortable at the hospital. As noted above, 'Séraphine' is a slow-moving affair. Nonetheless, the method by which she creates her paintings, her religious zeal and her unusual relationship with Uhde, is enough for us to remain interested throughout. It's revealed at the end of the film that Séraphine never left the mental hospital and died in 1942. Uhde who was both gay and Jewish, was forced to hide in the South of France while the Nazis occupied the country. He died in 1947, two years after the end of World War II.

Yes Seraphine of Senlis is an interesting film in which you may loose interest! The lead actress was very good and the filming beautiful (if having extended and multiple shots on Seraphine's large behind could be so!). This said I went to see this film and with a little reading had some ideas on what it was about that got me rather eager to go for it. Well it did not work exactly as I anticipated it would, and now I have seen it I share my feeling very much with the last short comment I just read here; I, too, got rather bored, The frequent cutting of the scenes did not work to well for me as I probably would have preferred something more fluid. The slow pace that reminded me a little of a Chinese movie I saw some time ago "Spring time In a small town" where you almost felt that you were watching grass growing! I also have to confess I have problem with the unpleasant side of humanity, so if your are in this category you may share my feelings. But one can not deny reality, although this does not mean that we have to enjoy it all the time and all its forms, but it's fair that it should be portrayed. I have known French rural life post second world war and latter had a similar status as Seraphine had although I was one of the rare person in my category to have been treated as a member of the family I was working for. However I remember others sleeping in some niche in the farm and having their meals in a back room by themselves and eating mostly left overs. I also have a mental-health worker's background here in Australia that started in the early 70's when much improvement came in this area. So, as I watched this movie, there was a fair amount of thoughts that went through my mind. I have to concede, that "entertainment" does not necessarily mean to have pleasant feelings, it can also be interesting or informative. This movie should not come under the "spoilers" rule as it's not a "who done it" and for my own appreciation, I wish I knew a lot more about it than I did. I'm very thankful for a couple of comments so well written I read here that in some ways makes me appreciate 'Seraphine' more than I managed to do at the viewing. I thought the German actor has something familiar about him I could not retrace, and thanks to IMDb I know now he was one of the main characters in what for me was one of the best movies I have ever seen "The Life of Others". I can imagine that having some affinity to painting would add some interest to the enjoyment. Having said all this I certainly don't regret my attendance.