The animated feature film Charlotte starts in a hurry, with the artist protagonist who entrusts her hundreds of gouaches to a friend. “How could you paint so many of them?” he asks her. “There isn’t much time left,” she merely replies. She doesn’t believe so well. Or maybe it is, precisely. Because this painter is Charlotte Salomon, to whom we owe the river work Life ? or theatre?. And soon, the Nazis will seize the young German Jewish woman exiled in the south of France. In the film by Éric Warin and Tahir Rana, which she co-produced with Keira Knightley and Xavier Dolan in particular, Marion Cotillard lends her voice to the heroine. We spoke to him.
“I was offered this project two or three years ago, and I admit that I did not know Charlotte Salomon at all”, confides the Oscar-winning star of Life in pink (The kidby Olivier Dahan, 2007), Just the end of the world(by Xavier Dolan, 2016) andAnnette (by Leos Carax, 2021).
“Suddenly, I immersed myself in his painting, and I found it magnificent. As for his story, I found it completely crazy, incredible; this young woman who will have experienced so much in such a short period of time and who will have released an art that is so poignant, so beautiful. That’s why I wanted to participate in the film. »
A “crazy, incredible” story: these are the appropriate qualifiers in this case. Born in Berlin in 1917, Charlotte Salomon, the only child of a wealthy couple, took an early interest in drawing and painting. In full rise of the Nazi regime, and while her Jewish faith now excluded her from almost all social spheres, she managed, in 1936, to be admitted to the prestigious Academy of Arts in Berlin. In theory, the establishment no longer admitted Jewish students. But his singular talent was already so manifest that an exception was made. That is to say.
In 1939, when the Second World War broke out, Charlotte Salomon left to join her maternal grandparents who had taken refuge on the Côte d’Azur. She adored her grandmother, but her relationship with her grandfather was instead fraught with mutual enmity—an aspect the film duly dwells on. To this were added two great love affairs, the second with her future husband, Alexander Nagler. Without forgetting the friendship and unfailing support of an American benefactress of German origin: Ottilie Moore.
Between 1940 and 1942, Charlotte Salomon painted some 1000 autobiographical gouaches. More than 700 of them form his great work Life ? or theatre? (Leben?or Theater?). Here again, Marion Cotillard has the right words to talk about it: it’s “poignant and beautiful”. For the account, the emotion of the actress resembles that felt by anyone immersing themselves in said work for the first time. For example, in his novel Charlotte (Gallimard, 2014), dedicated to the artist and winner of the Goncourt des lycéens, the author David Foenkinos wrote:
“My wanderings had led me to the right place. I knew it the moment I discovered Life ? or theatre?. Everything I liked. Everything that has bothered me for years. Warburg and painting. German writers. Music and fantasy. Despair and madness. Everything was there. In a burst of vivid color. “.
A different investment
When Marion Cotillard is asked if the approach to acting, interpretation, for the dubbing of an animation is very different from that for a live action film, the actress takes the time to reflect.
“It happens over a much shorter period, and there is an investment that is less physical, but the research work remains the same. And then, in this case, the cartoon was already done, so when I was recording, there was all this atmosphere to inspire me. »
Ultimately, Marion Cotillard says she is happy with the film which, moreover, does a useful job. With the Second World War in the background, it is difficult, moreover, not to think of a possible third war. In this regard, the film recalls to what extent art can become an indispensable witness to History. Because by recounting herself in painting, Charlotte Salomon also found herself recounting her time.
To conclude Marion Cotillard: “His art is powerful; it vibrates, it moves. More generally, I think it’s important to highlight the work of women artists who have been left aside by history for who knows what reason. As I was telling you, I didn’t know Charlotte Salomon, and my friends around me didn’t know her either. However, I am interested in art, I go to galleries and I visit museums. This evocation of her life is also an opportunity to offer an additional model to today’s female artists. »