_A Radiant Girl_ is an absolute masterpiece. It opens with
surprising 2.35:1 widescreen compositions, faces in close-ups
-- off-kilter, off to one side, against a dark background,
against the void -- delivering classically written lines. It
is slowly revealed that they are auditioning for a Marivaux
play. Indeed this turns out to be a unique film, classically
informed yet sui generis -- like the director Sandrine Kiberlain
herself as an actress.

Kiberlain follows in the recent footsteps of numerous French
actresses who have also become visually sophisticated directors
(Nicole Garcia, Melanie Laurent, Hafsia Herzi ...). As a group,
they seem pretenaturally primed to channel the great cinematic
story-tellers they have worked with, as though through osmosis.
In _A Radiant Girl_ the point of reference is clearly Benoit
Jacquot, whose _False Servant_ (also based on Marivaux) she
starred in. Her lead actress, Rebecca Marder in a star-making
role as Irene, also has extensive theater background; she is
one of the youngest salaried members of the Comédie-Française,
ever. Irene is a high-spirited, impossibly talented 18-year-old
non-practising Jew living in the shadow of Nazi-occupied Paris.
Keen on being selected into a conservatory, she enlists her
friends and family in rehearsals, blind to the encroaching
restrictions and intolerance -- even after she is fired from
an usher job and is forced to wear the yellow star. She is
also experiencing the throes of first love, feigning poor
eyesight so she can spend time with an optometrist's assistant.
Like many Frenchmen in the film Jacques embraces her ethnicity.
But virulent elements are on the rise, like the resentful
waitress who informs on her. The film ends with Irene on
verge of being arrested by Nazi agents, to the horror of
devoted friends in that cafe; sitting with her back to the
entrance she never sees it coming.

The film's focus on the lives and loves of exalted Jewish
youths soon to be rounded up are very much in the tradition
of _Au Revoir Les Enfants_ and _The Garden of the Finzi-
Continis_, although _A Radiant Girl_ even more radically
elides the horrors of Nazi rule. Unlike those work it has
a female protagonist whose tunnel-vision define this film's
point-of-view. In interviews Kiberlain reveals this is
the central insight that gives her the point-of-entry into
that dark era of German occupation/French collaboration.
Another nod to French cinematic tradition is the troupe
of impossibly passionate, idealistic students driven to
learn the classics, to debate the fine points of literature.
They may be catty about the talent of their peers, but
on the whole there is not a mean bone in their bodies.
These are truly the best of youth; to touch a hair of any
of them is a crime against all humanity. I am particularly
enchanted by idyllic scenes of Irene cavorting with lover
and classmates in cafes and in outdoor picnics just
before tragedy strikes. Those scenes remind me of Eric
Rohmer, but also of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's masterpiece
"Luncheon of the Boating Party." I have always thought
that "Luncheon" was the impressionists' answer to da
Vinci's "The Last Supper." Communal bliss and betrayal/
mortification are two sides of the same coin; only
in tandem can the full measure of each be registered.
In that sense, Renoir's painting is as sacred an artform
as da Vinci's. The same may be true of _A Radiant Girl_,
implicitly in conversation with Holocaust films of the
past.

In this directorial debut, Kiberlain wisely plays to her
strength and that of Marder. The deep insights into the
theater acting/auditioning mechanics, and the thrilling
creative process behind new takes on venerable roles, are
clearly drawn from deeply personal experience. (Speaking
of which, Kiberlain seems to be 100% Jewish, with all four
grandparents of that ethnicity.) Marder is the spitting
image of Valentina Cervi playing another inspired artist
in _Artesima_. Her Irene has the hauteur of Marie Gillain
in Tavernier's _The Bait_, and her fainting spells and
tender scenes with father and grandmother remind me of
Irene Jacob in _The Double Life of Veronique). Some actors
are always ten times better than their material and their
costars.** Others, no matter how brilliant, thrive on
special roles and dedicated direction. I should have
recognized Marder from the forgettable _Mama Weed_; consulting
my notes, I once thought that she should have switched roles
with Lola Creton in a period film _Quarter_. In _A Radiant
Girl_ Kiberlain gives her full license to express herself,
perhaps even to take on the director's quirky acting persona
(not that anyone can truly imitate Kiberlain, a unicorn
among actors). She truly brings out the best in Marder,
who must be now considered among the most gifted French
actresses of her generation.

The production design by veteran Katia Wyszkop is first rate,
all muted colors which highlight the very occasional flush of
red on Marder's lips or chin. (Especially her red ribbon, for
good luck.) The film clearly has a limited budget; there is
not a vintage car in sight, WWII era technology is restricted
to rotary telephones (later confiscated from Jewish homes),
and Paris period landmarks are thinly represented by the banks
of the Seine. But the film turns this frugality into strength,
emphasizing the timelessness of its premise. The camera work
by Guillaume Schiffman is Benoit Jacquot-like, static in the
theater scenes, gradually more mobile as the film opens up to
the world, both its glory and ugliness. I don't know where
the inspiration for the wide screen choice comes from; it
must have been one of Kiberlain's acting credits but I am
drawing a blank. It provides a poignant contrast, a peripheral
vision field for a protagonist who lacks one. But Kiberlain's
solo screenplay is as responsible for keeping the story
fresh as the technical excellence and Marder's exuberance. There
are so many unexpected side stories, they feel off-kilter until
you think about them afterwards, and then they feel so right.
Lovely use of the Philip Glass concerto at the end. This
film will be on my best-of-decade list.

(for A.)

*In my Manhattan trip I came across Nicole Garcia's _Place
Vendome_ on DVD. I haven't seen this intriguing early film of hers
for such a long time!

**In the US, two examples are Lucy Walters, who is British,
and Alona Tal, an Israeli; sadly neither seems to able to
land leading roles.

I just received my DVD copy of this film. (Thanks to Film
Movement for issuing the DVD, even though it costs as much
as a Criterion disk; so many films will be lost to future
generations because they are only carried online these days.)

The DVD has a one-hour Q&A session with director Kiberlain and
star Rebecca Marder, hosted by Annette Insdorf. I saw Insdorf
host one an event live in New York 21 years ago; she was still
going strong, instantaneously translating Kiberlain's answers
given in French. (What was the occasion? It must have been
a Kieslowski retrospective. I even had her autograph on my
copy of _Double Lives, Second Chances_, dated 8/2002! I
simply can't believe it has been that long ago.)

Kiberlain is a first-time director but as an actress she
must have been the guest of honor on many of these Q&As.
She answered every question without a moment's hesitation,
with long, flowing sentences and strategic pauses to
allow translation. Marder was very young and tried to
speak in halting English; she should learn from her
director! Insdorf asked many insightful questions, but
two of the most revealing queries came from the audience.
One asked Marder how she compared her male directors with
Kiberlain. She revealed that Kiberlain was empathetic in
the extreme, not only with the actors but also the crew;
everyone truly loved her as a director. Kiberlain also
directed Marder in her role of Irene in a very physical
way -- often sometimes from a few feet away. (Speaking
of Kieslowski; he also directed Irene Jacob in his films
from a very short distance.) A follow-on question was
about the feminine gaze as director. Kiberlain gave
a brilliant answer, saying that some male directors can
have a very feminine gaze too. There are actors and
directors out there who are brilliant but just not very
nice people (Eva Green, anyone?). But you look at
Kiberlain and can intuit she is truly one in a billion.
Wish I can see her in person so day, maybe even hear
her sing!