![]() ![]() Malanga gives an acting masterclass as Laurence, an educated Senegalese immigrant who accidentally became pregnant during an affair with an older white man while studying philosophy. Laurence gives lengthy testimony, guided by her lawyer (Aurélia Petit), and it’s those moments that are most engaging-and telling. The majority of the film takes place within the walls of the courtroom, presided over by a female judge played by Valérie Dréville. Instead, she becomes enraptured by Laurence’s testimony, which doesn’t quite align with what Rama expects. Rama, who is pregnant, hopes to write about the case, using it as the basis of a modern-day retelling of the Greek myth of Medea. The film follows Rama (Kayije Kagame), a literature professor (and stand-in for Diop), who attends the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanga) in the French town of Saint-Omer. Starring: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanga, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit, Xavier Maly, Robert Canterella, Salimata Kamate, Thomas de Pourquery Written by: Alice Diop, Amrita David, Marie NDiaye Although Saint Omer does draw from the trial itself-using real dialogue from the courtroom-Diop’s version is ultimately fiction, which only makes it more interesting. Diop attended the trial herself, while pregnant, and was so compelled by the testimony that she decided to turn it into a drama. Diop, who wrote the screenplay with Amrita David and Marie NDiaye, based the story on a real-life case of Fabienne Kabou, who was convicted of killing her young daughter by leaving her on the beach to be swept away by the sea. But the movie, from documentary filmmaker Alice Diop, is so gripping you can barely tear your eyes away from the screen after it ends. It is, after all, set primarily in a French courtroom. Exhibited alongside works by Seurat, La route, with its jewel-like surface and vivid translucent palette, remains to this day in beautiful condition and such works by the artist seldom come to the market.On the surface, Saint Omer doesn’t present itself as a particularly riveting film. It is therefore of little surprise that the present work was selected for the 2005 exhibition ‘Le Néo-impressionnisme de Seurat à Paul Klee’ at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Indeed, for an artist who preferred to paint quietly in the beauty and tranquillity of the Midi, away from the public eye, today, Laugé is now firmly recognised as an equally important and pivotal artist of his time, with his works held in several major museums, including the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée du Louvre in Paris. By perfectly combining all the principles of divisionism: balance of composition, geometric rigour of line, pure superimposed colours and a marked sensitivity to light, shade and tone, it encapsulates the mastery of medium we associate with the works of Seurat and Signac. Executed in 1893, La route is a true example of one of these such works depicting a road in Cailhau flanked by trees and bathed in sunlight, a familiar scene for the artist. ![]() From 1888 until about 1896, Laugé would compose his pictures with these small points of colour and during this time produced some of his most seminal works. After entering the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1882 he remained there for four years and during this time would have undoubtedly seen the avant-garde work of the Neo-Impressionists and was therefore to some degree influenced by them.Īfter his sojourn to Paris, Laugé returned to his childhood home of Cailhau near Carcassonne in the Aude, establishing himself permanently in somewhat relative isolation and only exhibiting on the rare occasion at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. ![]() It was in Paris in the early 1890s, while sharing a studio with Aristide Maillol, that Laugé discovered the paintings of Seurat and Signac. ‘Laugé’s art is one of great sensitivity and controlled reason he is a master of light’ (Antoine Bourdelle quoted in ‘Le peintre Achille Laugé’ in Com oe dia, p. This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Achille Laugé currently being prepared by Mrs. ![]()
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