Cézanne et moi

"Cezanne et Moi" (2016 release from France; 116 min.) brings the story of the ups and downs in the long friendship between French writer Emile Zola and the French painter Paul Cezanne. As the movie opens, we are in "Medan 1888", where Zola is awaiting the arrival of Cezanne, after not having seen each other for 2 years. We then go back in time to "Aix en Provence 1852", as we get to watch how they meet each other in 6th grade and become inseparable friends, Before we know it, we are in "Paris 1960" where the two are struggling to make it. At this point we're 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from veteran writer and (later in life also) director Danièle Thompson, who is now in her mid-seventies, if you can believe it. Here, she brings us the story that on its face could be fascinating: how 2 legends from the 19th century interacted with each other over decades. Is this a true story? I have no idea, and the movie does not open with the usual "Based on a true story" or "Inspired by true events". But that is not the problem. The problem is in the script writing, which is way heavy and wooden, resulting in us the viewers watching acting performances that simple do not convince us or get us emotionally connected or invested in any way, shape or form. When at one point Cezanne gets mad/upset at Zola, it feels fake and very much "acted". In that sense, certain stretches of the movie feel like watching a theater play, rather than a movie. On the plus side, the scenes that play out in the south of France (Aix) are pure eye candy and provide a much needed boost to the film. Also noteworthy (for my anyway) is the excellent original movie score, courtesy of French composer Éric Neveux. But bottom line is that for me this movie feels like a missed opportunity, considering the potential involving large personalities of not just Cezanne and Zola, but other contemporary eventual celebrities appearing in the movie (Auguste Renoir, Guy de Maupassant, Eduart Manet, and more).

"Cezanne et Moi" opened this past weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Tuesday evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay for a week night (about 10 people). Given the lack of critical acclaim or positive overall buzz, I can't see this playing in theaters very long, so is this movie sounds like it could be of interest to you, you're more likely to check it out on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

Cezanne and I directed and written by Danièle Thompson is a movie that should never have been. It's a pragmatic and artless movie about artists of the second half of the XIXth Century.

It is a movie without purpose, the writing is poor and disjointed, it constantly jumps between different points in time without any purpose, or structure or even memory as some scenes seem to happen two or even three times.

What you will enjoy from this movie:

• the name dropping of some of the biggest artists of modern times
• the scenery towards the end of the movie

What you won't enjoy and the movie gets wrong:

• the portrayal of every character as a completely antipathetic, there is not one likeable character in the whole movie, even those with minimal texts such as Renoir or Manet who only talk to hate in this movie.
• the movie itself is deceiving, it isn't a movie about Cezanne but about Zola
• the artistic portraying of Cezanne who, apparently drew 99% of his canvas as portrait! What a strange choice from the director.
• the complete lack of artistry through the whole movie, be it from the cinematography, the direction, the writing or even the paintings shown through the movie.

The director clearly had no clue about art so why make a film about art other than self-indulgence?

Avoid.

If you didn't enjoy this movie you are probably neither artist nor author. That said the audience who is will love this film. The dialogue is witty, the acting superb, the dynamics between Zola and Cezanne fascinating.

The time frame is interesting. Outdoor (plein air) painting was made possible with the invention of oil colors in tubes, to vie with photography, and cheap books.

Only one mild disappointment. The film credits Cezanne's artistic genius yet does not discuss his clumsy draftsmanship of the human form. Perhaps in another film.

I stopped paying attention to the film half-way through.

Although I found the aesthetics, the scenery and the music pleasant, I found the characters themselves to be unrelatable and "dry".

It didn't capture me and make me go "oh, I love this". I felt quite disconnected and out of it. Around the 80 minute mark, when I first started to space out, the film did nothing for me to regain my interest. Rather disappointed.

That being said, I've experienced worse. This film, generally, could be worse but definitely could be better, too.

You wouldn't miss much if you watched this movie with the sound off. Some of the cinematography, especially of outdoor scenes in Provence, is just astoundingly beautiful. Some is very reminiscent of Le Château de ma mère and the scenes in la garrigue.

The acting is all fine. Guillaume Canet is a fine performer and does a good job, but he is not the seriously obese and not handsome man that the real Zola was.

The big problem here is the script. It starts with an imaginary meeting between Zola and Cézanne in 1888, two years after Zola permanently alienated the painter with his novel L'Oeuvre (The Great Work of Art). It then moves back and forth between the present and various scenes in the two men's past friendship. There is nothing wrong with that as a format, but the dialogue is way too stereotypical. If these men had been so pleasant, their friendship would not have come to an end. There is no real attempt to explore why Zola turned on the Impressionists, yet that is really the center of the story.

So, my recommendation would be to watch this with the sound off.