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An uplifting biopic of a screen icon and true eccentric
An uplifting biopic of a screen icon and true eccentric

The Advertiser

time4 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • The Advertiser

An uplifting biopic of a screen icon and true eccentric

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt MA 15+, 98 minutes 4 Stars In these days of everyday celebrity, a French stage actress who was a pioneer in theatre arts and became a major international celebrity a century ago is irresistible. Her gifts in performance were one thing, but the story of how Sarah Bernhardt became famous the world over, before Hollywood had begun to connect its A-list actors with fans everywhere, and long before the international news channels and social media got going, is quite something. The daughter of a courtesan, who became an unmarried mother herself, she earned a reputation as a great actress of fierce intelligence. She was also uncompromising, with a highly tuned sense of injustice that got her into trouble but also earned her admirers. Her contemporaries during the Belle Epoque of artistic and intellectual foment in which she lived, including Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Sigmund Freud, all of whom were celebrities in their own right, sang her praises. Some notables did not. This lively French biopic directed by Guillaume Nicloux and starring Sandrine Kiberlain in the title role has arrived on screen around a century after her death in Paris in 1923. It will dovetail with the events and exhibitions to mark this centenary, offering an interpretation of a life and career that can't be underestimated. Who was this actress who has been caricatured as the original drama queen, but was seen in her day by contemporaries like Mark Twain as in a class of her own? There was so much to Bernhardt, a thespian who stirred grand passions and operated as a theatre entrepreneur, accomplishing much, never waiting for permission from the establishment to do more. She was the first Hamlet to be seen (briefly) on screen, and as she grew older, she developed a preference for portraying male characters who had a brain to work with, not just a heart. After an opening montage of clips and stills that set the scene of her era, it's a shock to find Bernhardt on her deathbed. No, she is actually in character in the closing scene of Alexandre Dumas' play La Dame aux Camellias, her most famous theatre role. After she expires in the arms of her lover, there is rapturous applause. Laurent Lafitte plays opposite Kiberlain as Lucien Guitry, who in this version of the Bernhardt story, was her lifelong and only true love interest. No sooner is she done playing the tragedienne than Bernhardt is on her way to surgery. It's finally time to do something about a gammy leg, an injury that has been troubling her for years. The swift transition from a stage death to a real amputation is an opportunity for Bernhardt to exercise her devastating flair for bleak humour. At other points in the film, this refusal to succumb to the gravity of any negative situation is something of a trademark skill. After the procedure is performed and she is receiving visitors, she is quickly in command again, a clue to her courage and indomitable spirit. Kiberlain gives a skilful, subtle rendering of the diva, her light touch avoiding any histrionic overplaying that Bernhardt attracted criticism for. It's clear that the lucidity, liveliness and fierce intelligence that informed her life also informed her craft. Nor was it simply her artistry that people were charmed by. It was an unconventional approach to life that included having countless affairs and keeping a menagerie of unusual pets, like a lynx and a boa constrictor. There was a comfortably fitted-out coffin in her rooms where she sometimes slept; she was quite the eccentric. Nathalie Leuthreau's screenplay focuses on the personal, doing its best to capture Bernhardt's remarkable life within the feature film format. Like Bernhardt's best remembered role in Camellias, a little poetic licence can have its way. The Divine Sarah Bernhardt MA 15+, 98 minutes 4 Stars In these days of everyday celebrity, a French stage actress who was a pioneer in theatre arts and became a major international celebrity a century ago is irresistible. Her gifts in performance were one thing, but the story of how Sarah Bernhardt became famous the world over, before Hollywood had begun to connect its A-list actors with fans everywhere, and long before the international news channels and social media got going, is quite something. The daughter of a courtesan, who became an unmarried mother herself, she earned a reputation as a great actress of fierce intelligence. She was also uncompromising, with a highly tuned sense of injustice that got her into trouble but also earned her admirers. Her contemporaries during the Belle Epoque of artistic and intellectual foment in which she lived, including Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Sigmund Freud, all of whom were celebrities in their own right, sang her praises. Some notables did not. This lively French biopic directed by Guillaume Nicloux and starring Sandrine Kiberlain in the title role has arrived on screen around a century after her death in Paris in 1923. It will dovetail with the events and exhibitions to mark this centenary, offering an interpretation of a life and career that can't be underestimated. Who was this actress who has been caricatured as the original drama queen, but was seen in her day by contemporaries like Mark Twain as in a class of her own? There was so much to Bernhardt, a thespian who stirred grand passions and operated as a theatre entrepreneur, accomplishing much, never waiting for permission from the establishment to do more. She was the first Hamlet to be seen (briefly) on screen, and as she grew older, she developed a preference for portraying male characters who had a brain to work with, not just a heart. After an opening montage of clips and stills that set the scene of her era, it's a shock to find Bernhardt on her deathbed. No, she is actually in character in the closing scene of Alexandre Dumas' play La Dame aux Camellias, her most famous theatre role. After she expires in the arms of her lover, there is rapturous applause. Laurent Lafitte plays opposite Kiberlain as Lucien Guitry, who in this version of the Bernhardt story, was her lifelong and only true love interest. No sooner is she done playing the tragedienne than Bernhardt is on her way to surgery. It's finally time to do something about a gammy leg, an injury that has been troubling her for years. The swift transition from a stage death to a real amputation is an opportunity for Bernhardt to exercise her devastating flair for bleak humour. At other points in the film, this refusal to succumb to the gravity of any negative situation is something of a trademark skill. After the procedure is performed and she is receiving visitors, she is quickly in command again, a clue to her courage and indomitable spirit. Kiberlain gives a skilful, subtle rendering of the diva, her light touch avoiding any histrionic overplaying that Bernhardt attracted criticism for. It's clear that the lucidity, liveliness and fierce intelligence that informed her life also informed her craft. Nor was it simply her artistry that people were charmed by. It was an unconventional approach to life that included having countless affairs and keeping a menagerie of unusual pets, like a lynx and a boa constrictor. There was a comfortably fitted-out coffin in her rooms where she sometimes slept; she was quite the eccentric. Nathalie Leuthreau's screenplay focuses on the personal, doing its best to capture Bernhardt's remarkable life within the feature film format. Like Bernhardt's best remembered role in Camellias, a little poetic licence can have its way. The Divine Sarah Bernhardt MA 15+, 98 minutes 4 Stars In these days of everyday celebrity, a French stage actress who was a pioneer in theatre arts and became a major international celebrity a century ago is irresistible. Her gifts in performance were one thing, but the story of how Sarah Bernhardt became famous the world over, before Hollywood had begun to connect its A-list actors with fans everywhere, and long before the international news channels and social media got going, is quite something. The daughter of a courtesan, who became an unmarried mother herself, she earned a reputation as a great actress of fierce intelligence. She was also uncompromising, with a highly tuned sense of injustice that got her into trouble but also earned her admirers. Her contemporaries during the Belle Epoque of artistic and intellectual foment in which she lived, including Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Sigmund Freud, all of whom were celebrities in their own right, sang her praises. Some notables did not. This lively French biopic directed by Guillaume Nicloux and starring Sandrine Kiberlain in the title role has arrived on screen around a century after her death in Paris in 1923. It will dovetail with the events and exhibitions to mark this centenary, offering an interpretation of a life and career that can't be underestimated. Who was this actress who has been caricatured as the original drama queen, but was seen in her day by contemporaries like Mark Twain as in a class of her own? There was so much to Bernhardt, a thespian who stirred grand passions and operated as a theatre entrepreneur, accomplishing much, never waiting for permission from the establishment to do more. She was the first Hamlet to be seen (briefly) on screen, and as she grew older, she developed a preference for portraying male characters who had a brain to work with, not just a heart. After an opening montage of clips and stills that set the scene of her era, it's a shock to find Bernhardt on her deathbed. No, she is actually in character in the closing scene of Alexandre Dumas' play La Dame aux Camellias, her most famous theatre role. After she expires in the arms of her lover, there is rapturous applause. Laurent Lafitte plays opposite Kiberlain as Lucien Guitry, who in this version of the Bernhardt story, was her lifelong and only true love interest. No sooner is she done playing the tragedienne than Bernhardt is on her way to surgery. It's finally time to do something about a gammy leg, an injury that has been troubling her for years. The swift transition from a stage death to a real amputation is an opportunity for Bernhardt to exercise her devastating flair for bleak humour. At other points in the film, this refusal to succumb to the gravity of any negative situation is something of a trademark skill. After the procedure is performed and she is receiving visitors, she is quickly in command again, a clue to her courage and indomitable spirit. Kiberlain gives a skilful, subtle rendering of the diva, her light touch avoiding any histrionic overplaying that Bernhardt attracted criticism for. It's clear that the lucidity, liveliness and fierce intelligence that informed her life also informed her craft. Nor was it simply her artistry that people were charmed by. It was an unconventional approach to life that included having countless affairs and keeping a menagerie of unusual pets, like a lynx and a boa constrictor. There was a comfortably fitted-out coffin in her rooms where she sometimes slept; she was quite the eccentric. Nathalie Leuthreau's screenplay focuses on the personal, doing its best to capture Bernhardt's remarkable life within the feature film format. Like Bernhardt's best remembered role in Camellias, a little poetic licence can have its way. The Divine Sarah Bernhardt MA 15+, 98 minutes 4 Stars In these days of everyday celebrity, a French stage actress who was a pioneer in theatre arts and became a major international celebrity a century ago is irresistible. Her gifts in performance were one thing, but the story of how Sarah Bernhardt became famous the world over, before Hollywood had begun to connect its A-list actors with fans everywhere, and long before the international news channels and social media got going, is quite something. The daughter of a courtesan, who became an unmarried mother herself, she earned a reputation as a great actress of fierce intelligence. She was also uncompromising, with a highly tuned sense of injustice that got her into trouble but also earned her admirers. Her contemporaries during the Belle Epoque of artistic and intellectual foment in which she lived, including Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Sigmund Freud, all of whom were celebrities in their own right, sang her praises. Some notables did not. This lively French biopic directed by Guillaume Nicloux and starring Sandrine Kiberlain in the title role has arrived on screen around a century after her death in Paris in 1923. It will dovetail with the events and exhibitions to mark this centenary, offering an interpretation of a life and career that can't be underestimated. Who was this actress who has been caricatured as the original drama queen, but was seen in her day by contemporaries like Mark Twain as in a class of her own? There was so much to Bernhardt, a thespian who stirred grand passions and operated as a theatre entrepreneur, accomplishing much, never waiting for permission from the establishment to do more. She was the first Hamlet to be seen (briefly) on screen, and as she grew older, she developed a preference for portraying male characters who had a brain to work with, not just a heart. After an opening montage of clips and stills that set the scene of her era, it's a shock to find Bernhardt on her deathbed. No, she is actually in character in the closing scene of Alexandre Dumas' play La Dame aux Camellias, her most famous theatre role. After she expires in the arms of her lover, there is rapturous applause. Laurent Lafitte plays opposite Kiberlain as Lucien Guitry, who in this version of the Bernhardt story, was her lifelong and only true love interest. No sooner is she done playing the tragedienne than Bernhardt is on her way to surgery. It's finally time to do something about a gammy leg, an injury that has been troubling her for years. The swift transition from a stage death to a real amputation is an opportunity for Bernhardt to exercise her devastating flair for bleak humour. At other points in the film, this refusal to succumb to the gravity of any negative situation is something of a trademark skill. After the procedure is performed and she is receiving visitors, she is quickly in command again, a clue to her courage and indomitable spirit. Kiberlain gives a skilful, subtle rendering of the diva, her light touch avoiding any histrionic overplaying that Bernhardt attracted criticism for. It's clear that the lucidity, liveliness and fierce intelligence that informed her life also informed her craft. Nor was it simply her artistry that people were charmed by. It was an unconventional approach to life that included having countless affairs and keeping a menagerie of unusual pets, like a lynx and a boa constrictor. There was a comfortably fitted-out coffin in her rooms where she sometimes slept; she was quite the eccentric. Nathalie Leuthreau's screenplay focuses on the personal, doing its best to capture Bernhardt's remarkable life within the feature film format. Like Bernhardt's best remembered role in Camellias, a little poetic licence can have its way.

‘The highlight of my spring': Peonies popping in St. James neighbourhood
‘The highlight of my spring': Peonies popping in St. James neighbourhood

CTV News

time12-06-2025

  • General
  • CTV News

‘The highlight of my spring': Peonies popping in St. James neighbourhood

Dozens of Sarah Bernhardt peonies are in full bloom on Albany Street in Michelle Finley's front yard on Thursday June 12, 2025. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg) Michelle Finley has lived on Albany Street, in St. James, for 30 years and every spring, her front yard has been full of Sarah Bernhardt peonies. 'Everybody get ready, the peony parade is coming,' she said with a smile. 'I'm just really proud to be their custodian and they're just the highlight of my spring every year.' What Finley did not know was just how old these peonies were, but a few years ago she got a knock at her door with an answer. A man with his grandchildren asked to show them the home where he grew up. He told her the backstory of the beautiful flowers. 'He let me know that his mom had planted these in the early 1950s,' Finley said. 'They're (the flowers) somewhere in their 70s now. They're senior citizen peonies.' Peonies Albany Street Finley has looked after these Sarah Bernhardt peonies since she moved into this house on Albany Street in 1995. Here they are on Thursday June 12, 2025. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg) At St. Mary's Nursery & Garden Centre, co-owner and president Carla Hrycyna sells a variety of peony plants each growing season. Hrycyna said peonies have a hardy rooting system that makes them ideal to grow in Manitoba. 'They have the ability to adapt to different conditions, whether it's sandy or in heavier clay soils, they have that strength in them and hence, workhorse,' Hrycyna said. She said peonies were originally brought to Canada from Europe centuries ago and it's not unusual to see them grow back each year. If properly taken care of, the flowers can thrive for decades. 'It's heartwarming because you can see that it dates back a long period,' Hrycyna said. 'We saw it in farmsteads, and it brings back memories of me with my grandma having peonies on her farm.' Peonies come in all different colours and Finley said her pink ones are the talk of the town. 'I can see in the morning people walking to the bus, and they'll stop and pause and smell the flowers, which is wonderful. That's what they're here for,' Finley said. 'I've posted about these in the Winnipeg Gardeners Facebook group, and I've actually made some really great friends that stop by every year.'

"The First Homosexuals" art exhibit at Wrightwood 659 in Lincoln Park explores early modern LGBTQ+ identity
"The First Homosexuals" art exhibit at Wrightwood 659 in Lincoln Park explores early modern LGBTQ+ identity

CBS News

time03-06-2025

  • Politics
  • CBS News

"The First Homosexuals" art exhibit at Wrightwood 659 in Lincoln Park explores early modern LGBTQ+ identity

Today, it's known as the LGBTQ community, but years ago, members were just called "homosexuals". Even though the term might seem outdated, the creation of the word was a major shift in the way people thought about sexuality. A new art exhibit in Lincoln Park called "The First Homosexuals" explores LGBTQ history. "This is that pivotal turning point, where the terms homosexual and heterosexual are first coined," Johnny Wilson, assistant curator of "The First Homosexuals," said. The first time the words "homosexual" and "heterosexual" were used in print, they appeared in a letter written by a European activist in the 1860s. The words established sexuality as an identity, not just an action. The collection of art shows people in the gay, lesbian, and trans community in the years following the creation of the term. "It's about how art captures that transition," Wilson said. And the meaning of that art was often coded. For example, there is a sculpture from French actress and artist Sarah Bernhardt. "She's depicting herself as a chimera. She has the wings of a bat," Wilson said. "For her, a bat was a symbol of her lesbian dissonance. The exhibit features hundreds of pieces from collections worldwide. It took staffers like Wilson years to put it together. He says it's much more than just an exhibit. "I feel like this is my version of protest," He said. "In this political moment, at a time when queer and trans are facing attacks, it's simply surreal and invaluable to share this history. Wilson says he's tried to get other museums in the U.S. to show the exhibit as well. But so far, there have been no takers. "Museums are afraid of doing exhibits like this, this is the uncensored history of queerness," He said. "This is an exhibit that at times challenges you, but that's what art is all about." The exhibit runs through July 26 at the gallery Wrightwood 659. A book on the exhibit will come out next month.

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