Artemisia (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Agnès Merlet

Writers:

Patrick Amos (writer)
Agnès Merlet (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Her passion for her art changed the face of history.

Plot:

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth...

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | Female Frontal Nudity | Virgin | Historical Event | Male Frontal Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Valentina Cervi	...	Artemisia Gentileschi
Michel Serrault	...	Orazio Gentileschi
Miki Manojlovic	...	Agostino Tassi
Luca Zingaretti	...	Cosimo Quorli
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Costanza
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Roberto
Maurice Garrel	...	The Judge
Brigitte Catillon	...	Tuzia
Yann Trégouët	...	Fulvio
Jacques Nolot	...	The Lawyer
Silvia De Santis	...	Marisa
Renato Carpentieri	...	Nicolo
Dominique Reymond	...	Tassi's Sister
Liliane Rovère	...	The Rich Merchant's Wife
Alain Ollivier	...	The Duke

Also Known As:

Artemisia (USA)
Artemisia - Schule der Sinnlichkeit (Germany)
Artemisia - passione estrema (Italy)

Runtime:

Argentina:97 min | France:98 min

Country:

France | Germany | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | France:U | Germany:16 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating after appeal)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Black Forest Films

Trivia:

The movie is a biography of the painter Artemisia Gentileschi, but many major details of her life were changed, leading to widespread criticism. In the movie, the relationship between Artemisia and Agostino is portrayed as a beautiful love affair, and the reason Artemisia is is tortured is because she refuses to testify that he raped her. In reality, Agostino really did rape Artemisia (and other women), and the reason she was tortured was because she did testify in court that he had raped her.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The painting displayed at the trial, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, was painted c. 1618, 6 years after the 1612 trial of Tassi. The self-portrait she shows Tassi was painted in the 1630's, long after she met Tassi.

Quotes:

Orazio Gentileschi: You're always painting saints by day and sinning by night.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Artemesia (2000)

Stunning work of Art

A romantic drama about the 17th century italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman in western art to be recognised officially by the guilds as a painter and the central figure in a notorious rape trial. By far the most striking element of this film is the smorgasbord of sensual imagery. From the rustic, artistic sets to the rich costumes to the extremely textural shots of skin this one just screams "Touch Me". The camera work is spot on and draws the viewer into the mise en scene completely unawares of what is happening to him or her. Very seductive.

The message of the film is quite simply that art conquers all. Love certainly doesn't and lust is portrayed in an at times farcical manner. In particular the artists orgy scene viewed with delirious humour through the window by our herioine (Artemisia) and the troubling sex scene with her teacher both reinforce the pain, literally, and the bestiality of the sex act.

It's not surprising that her mature work dealt with violent acts of revenge and holy sacrifice in light of what she went through

The shots of skin, sea, sand, canvas and paint dominate this film as the director attempts to create a living canvas on the screen. For the most part this is what is achieved.

The dialogue and plot are almost arbitrary to the dominance of the images, and as such this is an almost edible and tactile piece of work.