The fall film series of the Hope College Knickerbocker Theatre will continue with the French film "Seraphine" on Monday-Saturday, Sept. 28-Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m.
"Seraphine" is the story of Seraphine Louis, also known as Seraphine de Senlis, played by Yolande Moreau, a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper who in 1905 at age 41, self taught and with the instigation of her guardian angel, began painting brilliantly colorful canvases. In 1912 Wilhelm Uhde, played by Ulrich Tukur, a German art critic and collector, discovered her paintings while she worked for him as a maid in his house in Senlis outside Paris.
A moving and unexpected relationship develops between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary cleaning lady, leading to Seraphine's work being grouped with other naive painters, the so-called "Sacred Heart Painters," with acclaimed shows in France, elsewhere in Europe and eventually at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Martin Provost's poignant portrait of this now largely forgotten painter is a testament to the mysteries of creativity and the resilience of one woman's spirit. Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" has described the movie as "exceptional... refuses to capitulate to the ordinary and the expected... the long French tradition of thoughtful, intelligent films of quality for adults is alive and well here, and that is reason to rejoice."
A sleeper hit in France last fall, "Seraphine" went on to a surprise win as Best Picture and with Best Actress honors for Yolande Moreau along with five other awards at the Cesars - the French Academy Awards.
The film is in French with English subtitles.
Tickets are $6 for regular admission and $5 for students and senior citizens, and can be purchased at the door or in advance at the ticket office in the front lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St., between College and Columbia avenues.
The fall film series will continue with "The Class" on Monday-Saturday, Oct. 19-24, at 7:30 p.m. and "Lemon Tree" on Monday-Friday, Nov. 16-20, at 7:30 p.m. Additional information may be obtained online by visiting https://hope.edu/arts/knick.