Trailer for The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire: Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich's Impressive Debut Set to Release in June

      Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich's directorial debut is as captivating as it is narratively unsettling, making her one of my standout discoveries from last year's New York Film Festival. This post-biopic focuses on Caribbean surrealist Suzanne Césaire and explores the complexities of adapting a lived experience into film. Cinema Guild is set to release it on June 6, starting at BAM, alongside a unique 35mm print tour. In anticipation of the release, the initial poster and trailer have been unveiled.

      Here’s the synopsis: “The film delves into her relationship with her husband, French politician Aimé Césaire, and renowned surrealist André Breton. Filmed at a tree archive in South Florida, a small team of filmmakers and actors contemplate the “paradise” within historical and political memory. The narrative primarily unfolds on the film set itself, where the cast and crew engage with the writer’s youth and reenact scenes from her life. The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire marks the first feature by writer-director Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, featuring César-award-winning actress Zita Hanrot and Motell Gyn Foster. Drawing inspiration from Césaire’s own literary structures that often unraveled colonial conventions, the film deconstructs the conventional biopic, oscillating between traditional cinema and experimental scenes. With a soundtrack by singer Sabine McCalla, The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire immerses viewers in the depth and yearning of its themes while recognizing the challenge of reviving a legacy partly lost to time.”

      In his review for NYFF, David Katz remarked, “The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, the feature debut from artist and filmmaker Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, intends to prioritize its primary literary source and historical context, but instead draws more focus to its dreamlike elements and natural phenomena—the “wind in the trees,” so to speak. The titular figure, along with her better-known husband Aimé Césaire, were pivotal figures in the négritude movement, which aimed to foster a dialogue between Francophone literature from colonized peoples and their African heritage, depicting this through a fluid, surreal perspective. Drawing from extensive research, collaboration with academic experts, and consultations with the Césaire family, Hunt-Ehrlich’s ambitious formal approach still inhibits a complete grasp of these efforts: “feeling” often overshadows comprehensive understanding. The lively Caribbean music and torch songs in the soundtrack clearly signal that it is a ballad, rather than a didactic lecture on Suzanne Césaire.”

      Check out the trailer and poster below.