'Juliette Binoche' (qv), daughter of an actress and a sculptor, was
only 23 when she first attracted the attention of international
film critics with _Unbearable Lightness of Being, The (1988). Roger
Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times film critic with an international
following of his books on film and TV reviews, wrote that she was
"almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence". That innocence was
gone by the time Binoche completed Louis Malle's _Fatale (1992)_
(qv). In an interview after the film was released, Binoche said:
"Malle was trying to change my image! He considered it too direct
and wanted something more sophisticated". A year later Krzysztof
Kieslowski's _Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)_ (qv) was added to her
film credits and Ebert had this to say: "Binoche has a face that is
well-suited to this kind of role. Because she can convince you that
she is thinking and feeling, she doesn't need to 'do' things in an
obvious way". After a sabbatical from film-making to become a
mother in 1994, Binoche was selected as the heroine of France's
most expensive ($35 million) movie ever: Hussard sur let toit, Le
(1995). In his review of that film, Stephen Holden, New York Times
film critic, wrote: "Binoche... conveys a mercurially eruptive
spirit that makes Pauline mysterious and utterly captivating".
Barbara Shulgasser, San Francisco Examiner film critic, liked
Binoche a lot better than the film itself or the leading man,
Olivier Martinez, whom she found "a bit dull here. Offscreen he's
probably more exciting as he and Binoche are an item. Binoche, on
the other hand, is a joy to behold. With that simple beauty, eyes
that always look to be near tears and a sultry, swollen upper lip,
she does most of her acting just by manipulating that wonderful
face."
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– Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role at Screen Actors Guild Awards for THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1997)
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