‘Séraphine’

We tend to think of artists as exotic creatures with rarefied, if tortured, existences. Their genius somehow recognizable even at a distance. Actress Yolande Moreau wades into those strong currents, creating a remarkably moving portrait of Seraphine, an exceedingly plain housekeeper whose saints drive her to paint through the night. Our first images are of a thick-set woman, rough hands combing the bottom of a muddy inlet, though for just what is unclear, with director Martin Provost taking his time telling her story. It is Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur), a German intellect and connoisseur who would introduce first the world, and now us, to this early 20th century naive French artist. The film reminds that great art demands more than inspiration; there is also backbreaking, soul-scorching work involved. Thankfully, Moreau gives us both.

-- Betsy Sharkey