Camille Claudel 1915

Austere auteur Bruno Dumont’s biopic of the French sculptress occupies only a few days of her confinement to an asylum, yet his exactingly slow, sombre technique conveys the full torment of the injustice. While not an easy watch, this is as accessible as Dumont gets, thanks to a compelling central performance from Juliette Binoche.

The A-list star, gaunt and glamour-free, immerses herself in Dumont’s aesthetic, co-starring alongside real-life mental patients and capturing Camille’s suffering across a series of long-take monologues. Unsentimental yet unsparingly sad, the film achieves a tender, tragic force.