Sarah Bernhardt, la divine (2024)

In 1916, Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923) has to undergo an operation on her leg. At the hospital, she receives a visit from Sacha Guitry (1885–1957), who has been estranged for years from his father, the actor Lucien Guitry (1860–1925). Sarah tells him the reasons for this estrangement, which Sacha knows nothing about, and which are connected to her own break with Lucien Guitry in 1896. In 1896, preparations are underway for a grand tribute to the actress, the “Sarah Bernhardt Day.” She meets figures from the literary world (Edmond Rostand, among others). She supports Dreyfus and urges Émile Zola to study the captain’s case so that he can see that Dreyfus is innocent and act in his favor. Her relationship with Lucien Guitry, with whom she has a passionate affair, is at the heart of the story. Lucien wants to leave her for a young actress, Charlotte Lysès (1877–1956). At the end of the evening held in her honor (during which eleven-year-old Sacha delivered a tribute to the actress), Sarah makes a scene in front of all the guests, causing Charlotte to break up with Lucien, who nevertheless does not return to Sarah. Sarah and Lucien reconcile a few years later, as do Lucien and Charlotte. Sacha Guitry, now a young man, falls in love with Charlotte and marries her (in 1907), unaware that she had been a great love of his father’s. Back to 1916. The operation takes place (her leg is amputated); Sarah does not let this defeat her. She plans to go perform for the soldiers at the front. In this film, Sarah Bernhardt appears as a free woman, particularly in her sexual life, as well as politically.