A woman in men's clothes conquers the Sahara while her husband waits at home. Feminist icon? Disaster wife? You decide.
Danuta Zarasik plays Isabelle Eberhardt in this biographical drama. At the turn of the 20th century, Isabelle fell in love with the African desert, donning men's clothing to travel and record her adventures in writing while her Moslem husband patiently waited at home. This visually stunning feature shows the overwhelming majesty and beauty of the forces of nature. Director Christine Laurent relies upon her expertise as a painter and designer to bring an added dimension of artistic beauty to the film.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like a stolen museum painting
Costume
Those men's clothes? Revolutionary disguise and liberation
Direction
A painter directing cinema—texture over plot, always
Director
Christine Laurent
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Real Isabelle Eberhardt died at 27 in a flash flood; this film romanticizes what history barely recorded. The actual diaries were far messier, far queerer.
Director Christine Laurent was Jacques Rivette's longtime collaborator before going solo. You can feel that French New Wave DNA in the wandering.
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