The Divine Sarah Bernhardt offers a glimpse into the life of the legendary diva

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The Divine Sarah Bernhardt is a biopic about the woman considered the world’s first celebrity actress, the French actress Sarah Bernhardt who is wonderfully portrayed by Sandrine Kiberlain (who is also in Love Boat at AF FFF 2025, and was in November, AF FFF 2023).

The film is set around two significant periods of her life – her leg amputation in 1915 and the eve of a day in her honour almost twenty years earlier in 1896. Scriptwriter Nathalie Leuthreau explains “[Bernhardt had a] life so rich that I found it impossible to recount it in its entirety, at the risk of skimming over it and rendering only a pale copy. I have therefore chosen to focus on two key periods in his life. Two key episodes, one of which would have an impact on the other. The day of her consecration in 1896, organised by those closest to her, and the amputation of her leg in 1915.”

The opening scene of the film is one in which Bernhardt lies in bed saying that she is dying and struggling to breathe. Initially, it isn’t easy to know whether this is a scene from a role or if it is actually happening. It is perfectly fitting that we are initially unsure, because as The Divine Sarah Bernhardt shows Bernhardt carries all of her life with great drama, exaggeration and excess.

From this film, Bernhardt seems like the stereotypical diva. If you’re not showering her with praise, she will quickly get bored or distracted and find someone else to talk to. Constantly surrounded by people who have interesting things to offer her, whether it be a role, adoration, gifts or sex. She surrounds herself with the great writers, artists, such as playwright Edmond Rostand played by Sylvain Creuzevault, and writer Émile Zola played by Arthur Igual. She shares a close relationship with artist Louise Abbéma played by Amira Casar (Call Me by Your Name), her friend and lover.

As you would expect for any diva, Bernhardt is surrounded by helpers. Suzanne, played by Pauline Etienne, helps her dress, reads out her adoring telegrams, etc. Then there is the poor Pitou, played by Laurent Stocker of La Comédie-Française (who played Nicolas Sarkozy in The President’s Wife, AF FFF 2024) who she insults, screams after and at, and even threatens to kill.

Bernhardt isn’t just surrounded by those who adore her and obey her every command, she is also surrounded by a menagerie of animals, some of which we see in the film (a lemur, a boa constrictor, among them). She keeps asking the surgeon Samuel Pozzi (Sébastien Pouderoux from la Comédie-Française) to graft a leopard’s tail onto her so she can feel closer to them, a request which frustrates him increasingly, particularly the first time when he rushes to see her assuming she’s gravely ill, after receiving a message to do so urgently.

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt is also a story of Sarah’s great love affair with Lucien Guitry (Laurent Lafitte, who is also in The Count of Monte-Cristo at AF FFF 2025, Everybody Loves Jeanne, AF FFF 2023). Sitting by Sarah’s hospital bed, after her amputation, is Sacha Guitry, Lucien’s son, played by Arthur Mazet. He and his father no longer speak, and in the hope of changing that, Sarah Bernhardt tells him about her relationship with Lucien, and how she too was angry at him. It is through her recounting to him that the film takes us to the time leading up to the day in her honour in 1896.

Of Sandrine Kiberlain’s recent films to have bene released in Australia (November, AF FFF 2023, and Hear Me Out AF FFF 2022), The Divine Sarah Bernhardt is where her talent shines most. Kiberlain vanishes into the role of Sarah Bernhardt, capturing both her theatrical grandeur and private complexities with remarkable authenticity. More than just channelling Bernhardt’s commanding presence, she brings a layered performance that balances confidence, vulnerability, and artistic passion. Kiberlain ensures that The Divine Sarah Bernhardt is not just a portrait of a historical figure, but a deeply felt, compelling character study.

Special mention also needs to be made to the magnificent lavish decors (Olivier Radot) and costumes (Anaïs Romand) in The Divine Sarah Bernhardt, which transport audiences directly into the opulent world of 19th-century Paris, immersing us in the grandeur and excess that defined Sarah Bernhardt’s life and career. Every detail, from the ornate furnishings to the rich colour palette, is meticulously designed to evoke the period’s sense of luxury, capturing both the splendour and the theatricality of the time.

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt is a wonderful film for lovers of French cinema, regardless of whether or not you are familiar with Sarah Bernhardt, or a fan of Sandrine Kiberlain. You can see it at Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025.

4 CROISSANTS

Matilda Marseillaise watched a screener of the film.

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt was released in France under the title Sarah Bernhardt, la divine in December 2024.

KEY INFO FOR THE ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FILM FESTIVAL 2025

WHAT: Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025

WHERE & WHEN:

19/03 – 23/04 – ADELAIDE
06/03 – 08/04 – BRISBANE
06/03 – 02/04 – BALLARAT, VIC
08/03 – 02/04 – BALLINA, NSW
11/03 – 13/03 – BENDIGO, VIC
07/03 – 02/04 – BYRON BAY, NSW
06/03 – 09/04 – CANBERRA
25/03 – 15/04 – GOLD COAST
03/04 – 13/04 – HOBART
05/03 – 09/04 – MELBOURNE
03/04 – 06/04 – MOUNT GAMBIER, SA
13/03 – 16/04 – PERTH
26/03 – 31/03 – RENMARK, SA
04/03 – 09/04 – SYDNEY
02/04 – 09/04 – VICTOR HARBOR, SA
04/03 – 06/04 – PARRAMATTA, NSW
10/04 – 13/04 – BUNBURY, WA
12/04 – 21/04 – WARRAWONG, NSW