Isabelle Eberhardt (1991)

Story of a young woman journalist who becomes enmeshed in the politics of the annexation of Morrocco from Algeria at the turn of the twentieth century. The focus is on her hardships because... See full summary »

Director:

Ian Pringle

Writer:

Stephen Sewell

Stars:

Mathilda May, Tchéky Karyo, Peter O'Toole

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mathilda May	...	Isabelle Eberhardt
Tchéky Karyo	...	Slimene
Peter O'Toole	...	Maj. Lyautey
Richard Moir	...	Lt. Comte
Arthur Dignam	...	Cauvet
Ben Smaïl	...	Hussein
Foued Nassah	...	Lachmi
Wolf Harnisch	...	Trophimowsky
René Schönenberger	...	Fridel
David Pledger	...	Augustin
Clément Harari	...	Joue
Françoise Brion	...	Mme De Mores
Lyèce Boukhitine	...	Sayed
Mouss	...	Nefez
Olivier Pajot	...	De Susbielle

Storyline

Story of a young woman journalist who becomes enmeshed in the politics of the annexation of Morrocco from Algeria at the turn of the twentieth century. The focus is on her hardships because she is a woman in an Arab culture, although her determination carries her to a point of being somewhat of a phenomena in her work.

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Plot Keywords:

arab | journalist | algeria | nihilist | lieutenant | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

Australia France

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 October 1992 (France)

Filming Locations:

Algiers, Algeria

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Aramis

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabelle Huppert was originally intended for the title character played by Mathilda May.

User Reviews

Slow but interesting true story of a woman, a convert to Islam, whose several books about colonial Algeria became legendary.

Watching this slow French-Australian production is interesting if only to learn about the true story of a woman whose several books about colonial Algerian became legendary. Even the story of how the books came to be published is interesting.

Per a website entry by © Robert Bononno 1988, Isabelle Eberhardt was the child of an aristocratic German mother and a Russian father, a former priest in the Russian Orthodox church, a friend of Bakunin, a "philosopher, scholar and polyglot." (Eberhardt is claimed to have been Rimbaud's daughter). She converted to Sufi Islam and was fluent in many languages.

The movie is a little pedantic about justice and colonial oppression, and the character development is a not clear. However, this fictionalized snapshot of a period not widely known by American audiences is worthwhile.

A small role by Peter O'Toole is welcome.