Criterion | 2009 | 105 mins. | NR
Born in Paris and raised in colonial Africa, filmmaker Claire Denis studied in France and learned the art of moviemaking under directors like Jacques Rivette, Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders. Her debut film, Chocolat (1988), concerns French colonialism in Africa. She would return there in 1999 for her masterpiece, Beau Travail (which was based loosely on Herman Melville’s Billy Budd). White Material finds her in Africa for a third time, with a much darker story.
Isabelle Huppert stars as Maria Vial, a French citizen living in Africa. Life here has taken a turn for the worst, as rebel forces, consisting of child warriors, combat government soldiers for power and control. Whites are no longer visibly welcome. French helicopters buzz overhead warning their citizens to leave now before they’re no longer able to. Despite all this, Maria is determined to get back to the coffee plantation she calls home after a fruitless search in town for workers willing to harvest her fields. She rides a packed bus, the only light skinned person aboard, and flashes back to the days leading up to this mass exodus.
Maria and her husband André (Christopher Lambert) have been running the plantation for several years. Its harvest time for their struggling business but the civil war has driven all of their workers away in fear. André is inclined to cut his losses and take off, even going so far as trying to strike a deal with the local “mayor,” Chérif (William Nadylam), to take the land off his hands. Chérif is forming a militia to fight the incoming rebels. This ragtag bunch seems no more or less thuggish than the government soldiers. It’s hard to tell which side is which.
Regardless, Maria continues to believe that she can get through the unrest and harvest her crop. It doesn’t matter that there’s likely no way to get her goods to market anyway. The local radio DJ calls for the end of “white material” and the end of white-minded rule. “Coffee’s coffee,” says one of the workers. “Not worth dying for.” Stubborn, and determined, Maria is blindly and willfully oblivious to it all. Maria’s teenage son, Manuel (Nicolas Duvauchelle), is withdrawn from the start and hid behavior only becomes more erratic as time passes. It’s clear he’s a deadbeat— the first half of the movie locked in his bedroom, refusing to come out—but Maria refuses to hear a bad word spoken about him.
White Material is about what happens when intentional ignorance rules the day. Maria see herself as a mother to the plantation and the coffee she has been growing, much in the same way she is to Manuel. Given her personality, she’s not willing to give up on either one, no matter what circumstances may seem to dictate. The more desperate the situation becomes, the more determined Maria is to finish the job. She hides threats sent to her by unseen enemies and lies to her workforce. In direct relation to this, Manuel goes further off the deep end, though his intentions aren’t clear at first and his true motives are unexpected. Maria’s unrelenting fight takes a tremendous emotional toll and Isabelle Huppert does a wonderful job of keeping her psychosis understated, so as to not make her seem overtly crazy. While she does possess a manic energy, there is calmness to her mission that gives her balance.
As White Material heads towards its climax, the whole region is in chaos. Everyone is losing their minds; struggling to see another day. As such, the story (from a script written by Denis and Marie NDiaye), becomes more frantic and muddled. It’s no longer possible to tell exactly who’s doing what to whom. To preserve her isolation, Maria has given over to the savagery that she has been rejecting, and there is no telling what is next for her. The conclusion of White Material leaves things open-ended; it’s up to the viewer to decide what becomes of Maria, though it’s obvious that her options are few and her spirit has likely been crushed.
A truly haunting film, Claire Denis’ White Material is about fractured people struggling to hang on to a dying way of life amid the strife of a fracturing region. A talented ensemble cast, lead by Isabelle Huppert, portray a desperate group of people vying to maintain a place in the social structure of region that no longer exists.
Released by Criterion, White Material is presented in a 2.35:1, 1080p transfer. It looks wonderful. Detail is excellent, and the clarity is outstanding. Anyone familiar with Criterion releases will know that’s what we’ve come to expect from them. Skin tones look natural at all times and colors are well balanced and beautifully rendered.
The original French audio gets an exceptional DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. There is a lot of subtle ambient noise throughout and the soundtrack provided moves them around and creates a sense of space. Dialogue all sounds clear and natural. Optional English subtitles are well written and paced so they are easy to read.
We get the following special features:
- Interviews – three interviews recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2010. The director and her actors talk openly and honestly, about the making of the film.
- Deleted Scene – Maria returns to the plantation to find Andre, murdered. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080i).
- Ecrans Noirs Film Festival, 2010 – a short film documenting director Claire Denis’ return to Cameroon for the 2010 premiere of White Material at the Ecrans Noirs Film Festival. In French, with optional English subtitles. (13 min, 1080i).
- Trailer – the original theatrical trailer for White Material. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).
- Booklet – an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Amy Taubin.
o Claire Denis – In French, with optional English subtitles. (25 min, 1080p).
o Isabelle Huppert – In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).
o Isaach de Bankole – In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).
