Die Schwestern Bronte

"Les Soeurs Brontë" is an undeniably handsome production, but also a bleak and shallow film. For at least half its length, it could be re-titled "Branwell & Co.", because he is the main character. But even when the sisters have the film to themselves, Andre Techine and his co-screenwriters have chosen to focus too much on their misery and not enough on their artistic / creative impulses and processes. If you bypass the obvious language discrepancy (at one point, one of the sisters says "we know a little French" - the entire film is in French, of course), the three female leads are well-cast, especially as sisters: Marie-France Pisier (who later became a novelist herself) outshines her two more famous co-stars on this occasion. ** out of 4.

When the movie was released,it met mixed critical reception.The director seemed more interested in Brother Brontë and the audience was waiting for the sisters ,or should I say the actresses ,Marie -France Pisier (an intellectual thespian) ,Isabelle Huppert ,the rising star and above all ,Adjani the idol of the crowds of the era.

Objections to this costume drama remain:too few of the scenes are really potent,the actresses are too attractive (have you seen portraits of the sisters ? They were not really beauties ),nothing (or almost nothing ) deals with literary creation ,unless some (splendid) pictures of the Moor count.

It's interesting to note that the movie was cut drastically: they say almost an hour is missing .It's hard to judge a truncated version.Maybe some day ,the film as intended by Téchiné will be shown.

it is not exactly the expected biopic. and this represents its basic virtue. because, after its end, you discover than it is the best manner to present the Bronte universe. in cold images, using a magnificent cast, as fragments of memories, silence, dust and expectation. as a trip around the corners of a world who remains enigmatic. a film about a family. as a painting in Pointilist style. because all is discovered behind the shadows. because it is a poem about survive. and one of films who, after its end, grows up in yourself. this fact does it special. real special. almost like a memory. because it has the wise science to be a film about people more than about theirs books. and the result is fantastic - the people becoming theirs characters.

This is the one single wonderful biography about the Brontës!

You feel, it's French: cold, realistic and authentic... Ok, and it seems to be a little boring at the beginning; and there is no one single highlight turing the whole film. But isn't it a magnum opus? I think, exactly this kind of silence gives the film its power. Listen to the words! There is almost no dialogue without a hidden allusion to poems by the Brontë-sisters.

And Isabelle Hupperts' sensitive performance is definitely outstanding.

A feast of perfect acting (the three actresses earn applause), inspired direction and splendid photography (which evokes the outside and the inner landscapes of the sister writers), but strictly reserved to Bronte admirers. The screenplay, built upon continuous references to the Bronte artistic work, can create a sense of icy estrangement, but who is familiar with the writings and the life of the Bronte sisters (maybe through the cult Charlotte bio by Elizabeth Gaskell) will be enchanted. It is a pity this movie remains mainly unseen. The only chance to obtain it at the moment is to get the Spanish DVD which also features the French version.