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The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
Movie

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt

2024 • Biography

Woke Score
5
out of 10

Plot

Sarah Bernhardt, dubbed "La Divine," became the first global celebrity. The actress broke social conventions through her bold character and dramatic performances.

Overall Series Review

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt, a French biopic centered on the legendary actress, focuses on her life as the 'world's first celebrity' and her radical defiance of 19th-century societal norms. The narrative celebrates Bernhardt's 'free love,' bisexuality, and career-first mindset as the core of her 'modern' and 'free' identity. The film frames the actress's life as a victory over traditional institutions, explicitly presenting a message that a woman's mission is not to be a mother but to 'live free.' While the visual presentation is a lavish, respectful tribute to French Belle Époque culture and features historically and culturally authentic casting, the film's philosophical core heavily promotes the individual's subjective passion and freedom over traditional morality and family structure. The central conflict is Bernhardt's individualism versus the conventions of her time, which strongly skews the scores toward high marks in the anti-family/anti-traditional categories.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The movie is a period drama centered on a historical figure and her merit as an artist, focusing on her individual rebellion rather than a lecture on immutable characteristics or systemic oppression. The casting is historically authentic to 19th-century Paris and France, with no clear evidence of 'race-swapping' or vilification of 'whiteness.'

Oikophobia2/10

The film acts as a celebration of French artistic and cultural history, showcasing the 'lavish decors' and 'opulent world of 19th-century Paris' as a 'love letter' to the decadent style of the Belle Époque. There is no overt hostility toward Western civilization, but rather a reverence for its artistic high-points and an icon it produced.

Feminism9/10

The core thesis of the film is a glorification of the 'Girl Boss' archetype who 'shattered societal norms' and achieved fulfillment solely through her career and personal freedom. A key line of dialogue explicitly counters the idea that a woman's mission is to be a mother, stating it is 'first of all to live. free.' This is a direct promotion of anti-natalism and the rejection of complementary gender roles.

LGBTQ+7/10

The story centrally features Bernhardt's defiance of the nuclear family structure by having a child out of wedlock and her relationships, including one with the female artist Louise Abbéma. The narrative frames her as an 'apostle of free love,' making the deconstruction of traditional sexual norms a significant, celebrated part of her legendary identity.

Anti-Theism5/10

While there is no clear evidence of overt anti-Christian or anti-religious polemics, Bernhardt's defining principle is radical, subjective 'freedom' and passion, placing individual will and desire above any external or transcendent moral law. The film's celebration of her rejection of social and family structures implicitly rejects the moral framework that underpins them.