White Material

White Material

Theatrical poster
Directed by Claire Denis
Written by Claire Denis
Marie NDiaye
Starring Isabelle Huppert
Music by Stuart Staples
Cinematography Yves Cape
Editing by Yann Dedet
Distributed by Wild Bunch Distribution
Release date(s) 6 September 2009
Running time 100 minutes
Country France
Language French

White Material is a 2009 French film directed by Claire Denis and co-written with Marie NDiaye.[1]

The films stars Isabelle Huppert as Maria Vial, a struggling French coffee producer in an unnamed African country, who decides to stay at her coffee plantation in spite of an erupting civil war. The film was very well received, earning high ratings and appearing in several movie critics' top lists for 2010.

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Plot

Maria is a white farmer who runs (with her ex-husband, his father, and their son) a failing coffee plantation in an unnamed African country in the present day. Civil war has broken out and rebel soldiers, many of them child soldiers, are advancing on the area. Rebels on the radio advocate attacks on emblems of colonialism. Maria's workers leave, but she refuses to abandon the plantation, and searches for men to finish harvesting of the coffee. As she and her family await the inevitable, the tensions in their personal relationships, and in their relations with the African community, become exposed. Maria puts the farm in even more danger when she looks after a wounded rebel officer known as 'The Boxer'.

Cast

Reception

White Material has an overall approval rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 93% among the "top critics."[2]

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times described it as a "...powerful, agonized film." Roger Ebert was especially impressed with the performance of Isabelle Huppert, "...small and slender, [she] embodies the strength of a fighter. In so many films, she is an indomitable force, yet you can't see how she does it. She rarely acts broadly. The ferocity lives within. Sometimes she is mysteriously impassive; we see what she's determined to do, but she sends no signals with voice or eyes to explain it."[3] Michael Koresky of IndieWire concurs, and also praises the ensemble cast: "Maria is hardly the film’s only character. Christophe Lambert gives a surprisingly fragile performance as her ex-husband, while Nicolas Duvauchelle is downright frightening as the beautiful, blond, lazy Manuel, who descends to peculiar pathological depths and thrusts himself into unexpected action." [4] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times also praised the film, "Though it deals with serious political themes and confronts deep personal issues, perhaps the most unexpected thing about "White Material" is that it never forgets to add artful beauty to the mix."[5]

Top ten lists

The film has appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2010.[6]

Awards and nominations

See also

References

Notes

External links