the fight of a woman artist in an art world governed by men

THE “WORLD’S” OPINION – MUST SEE

Paris, 1952: Niki Mathews fled the United States to settle in France with her husband and daughter. She began as a model, but soon found herself stuck in the role of a wise housewife. It is at this moment that a traumatic memory comes to the surface: rape by her father, at the age of 11. The dark woman is interned in a psychiatric asylum where she is given electroshocks. It was there, in this desert of boredom and despair, that she began to paint to kill time and that her vocation took shape: in a few years, she would become known under the name of Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 -2002).

Spread over ten years, NikiCéline Sallette’s first feature film as a director, follows the exemplary trajectory of a woman who wants to become an artist in a hostile universe, at a time when the art world was exclusively governed by rules and desire of men.

Filming “from the point of view of the works”

The scenario, unfortunately, succumbs to a trend of the moment, which consists of politely ticking the boxes of the story ofempowerment to the feminine, sliding in a binary manner from alienation to freedom, from the role assigned to the artistic vocation, from trauma to catharsis through art. The fact remains that Céline Sallette, who, for legal reasons, was unable to show the works of Niki de Saint Phalle, transforms this handicap (how can we show the talent of an artist if we cannot see the works?) an opportunity to reshuffle the cards of the biopic a little.

She gets by by filming “from the point of view of the works”, clinging thirstily to the face of her actress who will act as a blank canvas, a great idea. In the role of Niki, Charlotte Le Bon is impressively accurate, revealing to the camera her face crossed by a weather of unpredictable affects which shakes the film from the inside.