Simone: Woman of the Century Trailer. Elsa Zylberstein is Simone Veil in French Biopic by Olivier Dahan

Simone Veil, A Woman of the Century official trailer and release date — Simone Veil, A Woman of the Century

The French biographical drama film, Simone: Woman of the Century (Simone, le voyage du siècle) directed by Olivier Dahan is set to hit theaters in the US this Summer.

The film stars Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long, Un + Une) as Simone Veil, Holocaust survivor, and French politician who served as President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office.

Also starring in the biographical drama are Rebecca Marder as Young Simone Veil (née Jacob), Élodie Bouchez, Judith Chemla, Olivier Gourmet and Mathieu Spinosi.

Directed by BAFTA Award nominee Olivier Dahan (La Vie En Rose, My Own Love Song), the film opens in theaters with a release date of August 18.

Simone: Woman Of The Century explores Simone Veil’s life story through the pivotal events of the Twentieth Century. Her childhood, her political battles, her tragedies. An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message that remains deeply relevant to this day. A daring biopic depicting the life and legacy of the French feminist icon who spent her life championing human rights after losing her family in the Holocaust.

In its review, Screendaily wrote, “Veil is splendidly portrayed as a young woman by Rebecca Marder, with Elsa Zylberstein — in heavy prosthetic make-up — playing her from1968 on. The project was initiated by Zylberstein, who knew the real Simone Veil and worked hard to master her speech patterns – an accomplishment for which many French commentators have taken her to task, along with Zylberstein’s admittedly extensive make-up. Non-French viewers are unlikely to care about the discrepancies between Marder’s relatively natural performance and Zylberstein’s more mannered one. But Marder has the advantage of playing someone who was not yet famous.”

“The film’s style is similar to La Vie En Rose – an almost woozy but controlled camera drops in and out of episodes in Veil’s life weaving a sensory narrative based less on chronology than on lasting emotional echoes. Foremost being that she remains — understandably —haunted by having witnessed evil up close and very personal.”

Watch the official trailer for Simone: Woman Of The Century.