Camille Claudel DVD, 1988

Following in the footsteps of the recent reissue of Agnes Merlet's Artemesia comes Bruno Nuytten's biopic of Camille Claudel, the famous 19th century sculptress, with Isabelle Adjani in the titular role and Gerard Depardieu as Auguste Rodin, her muse, lover and, eventually, the apparent cause of her madness.

As with Artemesia, we follow Camille as she develops as an artist (Rodin commenting, relatively early on, that she gives the clay a life that the models often lack) and we see the relationship of master and pupil become that of lovers; where Nuytten's movie diverges from Merlot's, however, is in the downside to the creative process: like many creative women before and since, Claudel was eventually consigned to an insane asylum where she eked out the last thirty years of her life.

This is an epic story (the film clocks in at 175 minutes) with epic performances – particularly from Adjani. Nuytten was the cinematographer on Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, and Camille Claudel certainly stands comparison with those established masterpieces.

Peter Wild on 13th June 2007
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