Rodin2017

Rodin is no plain biopic, and it certainly doesn’t require knowledge of his work to get hooked on the film. It’s in fact best when it does away with historical details and feels like a film about an artist and their art form, who just happened to exist.

This biopic about the sculptor Auguste Rodin offers insight into his artistic work from 1880 onwards, when Rodin was forty years old and working on his pieces "The Gates of Hell" and "Balzac." Director Jacques Doillon also places particular emphasis on Rodin's relationships with Camille Claudel and Rose Beuret. While this mix is ​​interesting and informative, the storytelling feels somewhat lifeless. With the exception of his obsession with Camille, Rodin's character is rather pale and superficial. The film fails to adequately characterize Auguste Rodin and therefore unfortunately offers too little for viewers who want to learn more about this artist.

Rodin, directed by Jacques Doillon and starring Vincent Lindon as the great Parisian sculptor, does not, to put it charitably, add to the very small roster of Great Artist movies (such as “Lust for Life” and “Vincent & Theo”).