a film about the stifling love of a mother for her daughter, the breeding ground for a literary vocation

“Madame de Sévigné” retraces in a film illuminating the genesis of a major literary work of French literature.

Isabelle Brocard stages in a period film the passionate relationship of Madame de Sévigné with her daughter. A passion that this woman ahead of her time expressed in a prolific correspondence that became a literary work. The film hits theaters on February 28, 2024.

Paris, 17th century, the Marquise de Sévigné (Karin Viard), widow, independent woman who had her hour of glory at court, dreams of a brilliant destiny and an independent life for her daughter Françoise (Ana Girardot), a well educated and intelligent lady.

“I want you to be happy, independent and in control of your destiny.”

Madame de Sévigné to her daughter

in “Madame de Sévigné” by Isabelle Brocard

One evening, during a ball in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, the king meets the young woman, known for her great beauty. Madame de Sévigné refuses to allow her daughter to become the king’s mistress and prefers to marry her to a penniless nobleman, the Count of Grignan (Cedric Kahn).

Françoise, contrary to what her mother had imagined, falls in love with her husband and begins a life of submission, with a series of pregnancies. The one who is now called the Countess of Grignan leaves the capital and her mother to follow her husband, governor of Provence. From then on, the Marquise de Sévigné embarked on a desperate correspondence. His letters, more than 700 addressed to his daughter over nearly thirty years, and hundreds of others sent to his friends, have become an unmissable work of French literature.

Chronicler of the “Grand Siècle”

More than ten years later My night companion, which focused on the relationship between a woman and her housekeeper condemned to cancer, this time Isabelle Brocard explores the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Through the journey of the two women, the film shows how the mother projects her own desires onto her daughter, to the point of madness. Loved by freedom, Madame de Sévigné, however, tries to impose her own aspirations without respecting those of her daughter, whom she ends up locking up for good.

With sets and natural light, a plot which does not leave aside the historical and social context of this half of the 17th century, the director also paints a portrait of the “Grand Siècle” from the inside. An era marked by wars, by a harsh life in the provinces, far from Parisian splendor, but also by the emancipation of women of the world, with the birth of literary salons, notably around Madame de Lafayette (Noémie Lvovsky) novelist, letter writer and faithful friend of the Marquise de Sévigné. A world that we find in the letters of this chronicler of her time.

If the film depicts with finesse the passionate and extravagant love of a mother for her daughter, and it also accurately depicts an era, it on the other hand misses a little the literary dimension of her character, in a on stage which relegates the act of writing to sets, props, and a voice-over. But thanks to the interpretation of the mother/daughter duo played by a surprising Karin Viard in the role of this complex woman, and by the sparkling Ana Girardot, Madame de Sévigné enlightens us, and it’s already a lot, on the seeds of a singular work, which the film makes us want to rediscover.

The sheet

Gender : Drama, Historical
Director: Isabelle Brocard
Actors: Karin Viard, Ana Girardot, Cédric Kahn, Noémie Lvovsky
Country : France
Duration : 1h32
Exit : February 28, 2024
Distributer : Ad Vitam – Orange Studio
Synopsis : Mid-17th century, the Marquise de Sévigné wants to make her daughter a brilliant and independent woman, in her image. But the more she tries to have control over the young woman’s destiny, the more she rebels. Mother and daughter then experience the torments of a close and devastating relationship. From this devastation, a major work of French literature will be born.