The Bronte Sisters

French filmmaker André Téchiné's 1979 psychodrama about Victorian sisters destined for literary immortality stars Isabelle Huppert as Anne (mildly moody), Marie-France Pisier as Charlotte (moodier), and Isabelle Adjani as the volatile Emily (moodiest—and that's saying a lot), all of whom ache to express themselves in poetry and prose while living in the household of their minister-father (Patrick Magee). In a grimly male-dominated Yorkshire, only the sisters' painter-poet brother, Branwell (Pascal Greggory), is allowed self-determination, but his failed affair with a wealthy married woman spells doom for the Brontës, even as Charlotte herself suffers from one-way infatuation with a Belgian teacher. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne publish their celebrated and scandalous novels together under gender-neutral pseudonyms (Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, respectively), but only Charlotte will live long enough to achieve acceptance in the London arts firmament. With its overcast skies, windy moors (the movie was filmed on location), and scenes of stormy nights, the adjective “Gothic” certainly applies here, although the drama is more formal and severe than operatic. Extras include an audio commentary with film critic Wade Major and Brontë scholar Sue Lonoff de Cuevas. A welcome earlier film from French cinema master Téchiné, this is recommended. (C. Cassady)