"Everything that rises..."

Last night I saw a fascinating, almost mesmerizing movie.

Called "Seraphine," it is based on the life of Seraphine de Senlis, a reclusive, highly-talented but unschooled painter whose work came to light in the 1920's thanks to a German art historian and dealer.

Seraphine worked endless menial jobs, living close to the bone to finance her obsessive desire to paint. Using her own formulas to make brilliant, intense colors, she painted flowers, leaves, insects, grasses and trees, creating dense compositions that all seemed to rise toward the top of her large canvases. An article about her work suggests her original inspiration may have been the stained-glass windows in the cathedral of Senlis. Her continuing inspiration came from the fields and woods all around her.

The film features Yolande Moreau, a Belgian actress who has worked as a clown, traveled with a couple of her own one-woman shows, and appeared in a number of films. Here she gives an almost silent performance that is marvelously eloquent in conveying Seraphine's intelligence, persistence, weariness, and elusive charm. Eventually the artist's visions lead her over the edge, but not before her paintings have brought her a significant amount of comfort and recognition.

The movie moves slowly, in no hurry to finish its story, and features long, ravishing sweeps of green French countryside or endless leafy woods. The director incorporated a great deal of natural sound into the film, which adds to the authenticity of the period setting.