by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The luminous actress Juliette Binoche has worked with many of international cinema’s greatest directors. And with them she has given some phenomenal performances in some remarkable films. Consider this list: Hail Mary, with Jean-Luc Goddard; The Unbearable Lightness of Being, with Philip Kaufman; Damage, with Louis Malle; Alice and Martin, with André Techiné; Disengagement, with Amos Gitai;  Flight of the Red Balloon, with Hsiao-Hsien Hou; Cosmopolis, with David Cronenberg; Certified Copy with Abbas Kiarostami, and The Truth with  Hirokazu Koreeda. Code Unknown and Cache with Michael Haneke, Summer Hours, The Clouds of Sils Maria, and Non-Fiction with Olivier Assayas, Blue, White, and Red with Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Slack Bay and Camille Claudel 1915, with Bruno Dumont.

While she can be self-deprecating (see her episode of Call My Agent! on Netflix) and even self-referential (catch her sly remark about Juliette Binoche in Non-Fiction), she can make films such as Godzilla and The Clouds of Sils Maria in the same year. Twice nominated for an Oscar, Binoche won for her supporting role in The English Patient in 1997 (beating out favorite Lauren Bacall). 

Binoche always elevates whatever film she is in, but her leading role in the 2017 film Let the Sunshine In, is one of her career-best performances. The film, directed and co-written by Claire Denis, opens with Binoche’s Isabelle, an artist, lying naked in bed as her married lover Vincent (Xavier Beauvois) makes love to her. He’s thrusting and grunting, and she may or may not be enjoying it—it is hard to tell—but Binoche exudes an air of mystery that makes viewers wonder. When Vincent says something inappropriate, she slaps him, rolls over, and cries. But by the time their tryst is over, she is hoping he will call her. When he doesn’t, she confronts him, and their subsequent conversation confirms that he’s a jerk, and she is done with him.

Let the Sunshine In traces Isabelle’s efforts to find love and be with a man she deserves. And Binoche, playing a character that craves love so desperately, makes viewers feel every painful and pleasureful moment. She is pleased when she and her ex, François (Laurent Grévill) fall into bed, but then kills the moment by chastising him for doing something “fake.” She can’t help herself, but her self-defeating quality is what makes her interesting. She is attracted to men who treat her badly and is confused by the mixed signals men give her. 

Her emotions are mercurial throughout the film. She acts abruptly, challenges an actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle) who claims his marriage is over, when he regrets sleeping with Isabelle. Why couldn’t things be different, just once, she wonders. 

Her friendships with women are more successful. Isabelle has a laugh with her gallerist friend, Maxime (Josiane Balasko) when she is asks her a personal question that diffuses an awkward situation. Watching Binoche hem and haw is charming and funny. Likewise, when she commiserates with her pal Ariane (Sandrine Dumas) after a breakup, she has an intimate moment of honesty. Even a trip to an arts fest in the country leads to an outburst that is as comic as it is full of anger.

But then Binoche dances to Etta James’ “At Last,” and she is irresistible. A man, Sylvain (Paul Blain) sidles up next to her and soon Isabelle is in love again. And merely three weeks later, she expresses doubts about her relationship, especially after lunch with her friend Fabrice (Bruno Podalydès) who poisons her mind. Isabelle is impressionable, and Binoche’s performance reveals her vulnerability. Because Denis often shoots her in closeup, Binoche is forced to express her emotions, but this is why the film is so captivating.  

The actress excels at playing smart, beautiful women who doubt themselves and it is therefore gratifying when she meets Marc (Alex Descas), a gentleman who doesn’t want to rush things. There is the promise of real love here, but it must wait; Marc is off for a month. Isabelle, however, is impatient. Meeting with a clairvoyant (Gérard Depardieu) she is told to “find the beautiful sun within.” Denis film ends, again, closing in on Isabelle’s face, but Binoche is pure radiance here. She is utterly hopeful, and viewer will feel satisfaction too.

Binoche reteamed with Denis the following year for the heady sci-fi drama, High Life. The actress played a doctor on a spaceship, and the role gives the actress one of the most memorable scenes in her career. But that is best left for folks to discover. Suffice it to say, Binoche is fearless, and that is why she is always so incredible to watch.