Sarah Bernhardt – à corps perdu (2023)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Bernhardt – à corps perdu is a documentary film which premiered on French television in 2023.

 

The French term à corps perdu is very appropriate when the topic is Sarah Bernhardt. There is more than one way to translate this term into English:

 

** Desperately

** Headlong

** Impetuously

** Recklessly

** Unconditionally

** With All She Had

** With Full Power

 

This biopic covers the life of the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt from the beginning in 1844 to the end in 1923. Here is some basic information about it:

 

** Director: Sophie Jaubert

** Available on the website of TV5 Monde Plus

** Language: French

** Subtitles: Arabic, English, French, German, and Spanish

** Run time: 52 minutes

 

Six persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (in alphabetical order):

 

** Sébastien Azzopardi (born 1975) – an actor – he is the great-great-great grandson of Sarah Bernhardt

** Pierre-André Hélène (born 1962) – an art historian

** Claudette Joannis – author of several books, including a French biograhy about Sarah Bernhardt

** Géraldine Martineau (born 1985) – an actress

** Alexis Michalik (born 1982) – an actor and an author

** Denis Podalydès (born 1963) – an actor

 

This film covers the life and career of Sarah Bernhardt in great detail. Her life on the public stage as well as her personal life when she was off stage.

 

Sarah had only one child, a son Maurice, who was born in 1864. The identity of the father is not certain, but it is often assumed that the father is the Belgian nobleman Charles Joseph Henri, Prince de Ligne. Maurice died in 1928, only five years after the death of his mother.

 

Mother and son were always close, but there was one exception to the general rule. The Dreyfus affair, which divided France, also divided mother and son:

 

** Sarah believed Dreyfus was innocent –

She was right!

** Maurice believed Dreyfus was guilty –

He was wrong!

 

Because of this long-running conflict, he did not speak to his mother for one year!

 

Sarah had many affairs. She married only once. In 1882, she married Aristides Damalas, a Greek military officer (born 1855) who became an actor. In France, he was known as Jacques Damala.

 

She loved him and chose to marry him, even though it is hard for us to understand why she wanted to marry this man – of all the men who might have been available to her.

 

The marriage was not happy. He was addicted to morphine and had affairs with other women.

 

Apparently, she tried to be loyal to him, but after a while she realized that it was a hopeless case and she wanted to leave him. When he died in 1889, her problem was solved.

 

Sarah Bernhardt was a famous person, not only in France, but also outside her own country. She travelled more than once to the United States where she toured the country with great success.

 

She was the first international star. She became an icon. A female icon. She had a strong sense of justice which sometimes brought her into trouble. 

 

She showed that a woman could be independent and make her own decisions. A woman did not have to be a second-class citizen whose only role was to take care of her husband and her children.

 

Because she was famous, she was also controversial. While some people loved her and adored her, other people hated her and condemned her for her unconventional lifestyle.

 

She realized that you cannot please everyone and she did what she wanted to do.

 

In this film, we can follow her life and her career from the beginning to the end. The portrait of Sarah Bernardt presented here is absolutely positive, but not uncritical. And as far as I know, it is not one-sided. It is not wrong.

 

If you are interested in the history of art and culture, this film is definitely something for you.

 

It is highly recommended.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. A review of the film

 

Joëlle Gayot

“Sarah Bernhardt”

Le Monde

26 March 2023

 

# 2. Books by Sarah Bernhardt

 

Ma double vie (French) 1907

My Double Life (English) 1907

 

Petite idole (French) 1920

The Idol of Paris (English) 1921

 

L’art du théâtre (French) 1923

The Art of the Theatre (English) 1924

 

# 3. Biography

 

Being Divine:

A Biography of Sarah Bernhardt

By Ruth Brandon

(Hardcover 1991)

(Paperback 1992)

 

The Divine Sarah:

A Life of Sarah Bernhardt

By Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale

(Hardcover 1991)

(Paperback 1992)

 

Sarah:

The Life of Sarah Bernhardt

By Robert Gottlieb

(Hardcover 2010)

(Paperback 2013)

 

Seeing Sarah Bernhardt:

Performance and Silent Film

By Victoria Duckett

(2015)

 

*****

The famous French actress

Sarah Bernhardt

(1844-1923)

 

*****

 Sarah Bernhardt:

Reine de l'attitude

et princesse des gestes

By Claudette Joannis

(2023)

 

*****