White Material (2010)
78%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 10 nominations
Isabelle Huppert is an immoveable object surrounded by unstoppable forces in White Material, an incendiary character study and political thriller that showcases director Claire Denis’ expertise in ratcheting tension
White Material is a movie that will make you think, but not necessarily care. It’s like that one friend who always has something interesting to say, but you’re not sure if you actually want to hang out with them. Claire Denis’ direction is unflinching and the story is absorbing, but it’s definitely not a feel-good movie. If you’re in the mood for something heady and substantial, give it a watch. Just don’t expect to be laughing your head off.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):French
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Country of origin:France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 2010 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 12, 2011
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Isabelle Huppert, Isaach De Bankolé, Christopher Lambert, Nicolas Duvauchelle, William Nadylam, Adèle Ado, directed by Claire Denis, written by Claire Denis, Marie N’Diaye, drama, political thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ty Burr, David Jenkins, William Goss, Calvin Wilson, Cary Darling, Rene Rodriguez, Ryne Clos, Brian Eggert, Kathy Fennessy, Dustin Chang, Yasser Medina, Mattie Lucas, MPAA rating, produced by Pascal Caucheteux, coffee plantation, Africa, civil war, rebel leader, tension, French (France), Dolby Digital
Worldwide gross: $1,392,434
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,892,856
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,429
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 206,418
US/Canada gross: $304,020
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $413,281
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,374
US/Canada opening weekend: $34,613
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $47,052
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,233
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Isaach De Bankolé – The Boxer
Christopher Lambert – André Val
Nicolas Duvauchelle – Manuel Vial
William Nadylam – The Mayor
Adèle Ado – Lucie Vial
Claire Denis – Director/Writer
Marie N’Diaye – Writer
Pascal Caucheteux – Producer
Dolby Digital – Sound Mix
Director(s)
Claire Denis
Writer(s)
Claire Denis, Marie N’Diaye
Producer(s)
Pascal Caucheteux
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 10 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (94) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (13)
November 24, 2011 | Rating: 3/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
November 16, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
David Jenkins
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A maddening movie that gives the viewer plenty to think about, but little to care about.
April 14, 2011
William Goss
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
White Material is unhurried in its storytelling but unshakable in its impact.
January 31, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/4
Calvin Wilson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
A thoughtful, if sometimes frustrating, tale of a Frenchwoman caught in the middle of a civil war in an unidentified African country.
January 14, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Cary Darling
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
A poignant, haunting study of well-intentioned but doomed folly, embodied by a heroine whose bravery renders her blind to the world that is crumbling around her.
January 6, 2011 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
A condemnation of the self-congratulatory 21st-century European worldview that has deluded itself into thinking that racial domination and colonial structures are of the past.
June 3, 2022
Ryne Clos
Spectrum Culture
The cinema of Claire Denis cuts into the essential core of its subject matter with unflinching reality.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Granted, movies about white privilege are rarely fun, and there’s no reason they should be, but [Claire] Denis is rarely so cynical.
September 15, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
White Material is not her most abstract film yet Denis still manages to keep the film absorbing and enigmatic without ever being didactic or boring. It’s definitely headier and feels more substantial than her other works.
March 21, 2021
Dustin Chang
Floating World
At first the story seems interesting to me and I even go so far as to pretend that it’s very provocative, but I immediately admit that it lacks tension and sharpness in a matter as difficult as the one that arises. [Full review in Spanish]
July 24, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
A deeply reflective collection of moments, both of great beauty and great horror, and it continues to reveal its treasures upon repeat viewings.
June 7, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/44
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row…
Plot
Denis revisits Africa, this time exploring a place rife with civil and racial conflict. A white French family outlawed in its home and attempting to save its coffee plantation connects with a black hero also embroiled in the tumult. All try to survive as their world rapidly crumbles around them
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about White Material.
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