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Séraphine
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Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: Seraphine vividly recounts the tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters like Henri Rousseau only to descend into madness and obscurity with the onset of the Great Depression and World War II. (Music Box Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    100
    The scene is so emotionally ravishing that it breaks you apart. The peacefulness that finally descends on Séraphine in the film's final moments is more than a balm. It's a benediction.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    100
    What makes Seraphine, directed and co-written by Martin Provost, so exceptional is that it neither condescends to nor romanticizes its subject.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It "explains" nothing but feels everything. It reminds me of two other films: Bresson's "Mouchette," about a poor girl victimized by a village, and Karen Gehre's "Begging Naked," shown at Ebertfest this year, about a woman whose art is prized even as she lives in Central Park.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 2 out of 8
  1. sunflower
    10
    This was a brilliant movie regardless of its so called "slow pace". It had perfect atmosphere, perfect timing, perfect everything. I particularly liked the main actress and the way she brought life and a tacit mystery to the character. Seraphine was fascinating from start to finish.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. WillT
    4
    The producer never learned to edit apparently. Would have been great if condensed to 1 hour.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JoelB
    3
    This was a slow, boring movie - and I love art, the process of creating art, and good movies. It tried to present accurately who Seraphine was but by not going beyond what it knew, it portrayed a woman's outside with no sense of what was inside. It would have been a better movie, if had been moring daring and given us some significant inner thoughts and feelings even if they were technically fictional. By the way, the expert who spoke after the showing I saw, admitted that as far as she knew the only real thing about the whole movie were the paintings. I've been amazed that no critic has given this movie a poor review - what were they thinking?… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 8 User Reviews

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