Serendipity

Prune Nourry's Serendipity distinguishes itself from other diaristic cancer documentaries by doubling as an overview of her artistic career. Since her conceptual work revolves around fertility and the body, the commingling of the two makes thematic sense and provides a constructive way to process a devastating diagnosis. If anything, 31-year-old Nourry takes a matter-of-fact approach, even as her aesthetics can be abstract as in the destabilizing framing sequences of a hospital setting from the point of view of a patient on a gurney. To prepare for her treatment, she starts by freezing her eggs in case she decides to have children, cuts her hair (with support from filmmaker Agnès Varda who passed away last year), and undergoes chemotherapy. Though she doesn't document her surgery, she cries when talking about it afterward. All the while, she works on her large-scale sculptural works while discussing previous projects, including figurative pieces made in India ("Holy Daughters") and in China ("Terracotta Daughters"). In both cases, she submerged the pieces in water and under the earth after their time on display came to an end. As a subject, there's a tension between her attractiveness and her willingness to show herself at her most vulnerable that aligns her with performance artist Marina Abramović whose body is central to her work. "I love anatomy," Nourry states, "but I think I lost my body along the way." She ends by meeting with a surgeon to discuss reconstructive surgery, joking with him that, "I'm just meat." Nourry credits director Darren Aronofsky for encouraging her to make art from her experience. He and actress Angelina Jolie, who lost her mother to breast cancer, served as co-executive producers. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)