Available on DVD: “White Material”

Isabelle Huppert in White Material

Isabelle Huppert, one of the icons of French film, never made it big in Hollywood. And that’s probably lucky for us. If she’d opted for American moviemaking, by now she’d probably find herself relegated to clichéd grandma roles. But French directors — such as Claire Denis, whose films include 35 Shots of Rum (2008) and Chocolat (1988) — somehow come up with challenging work for actresses in their 50s.

Chocolat (not to be confused with the 2000 film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp) was set in Africa, and Denis returns to that continent for the enigmatic but mesmerizing White Material.

Huppert is Maria Vial, a French woman who runs a coffee plantation in an unnamed, war-torn country. Urged to evacuate by French soldiers, she ignores them, confident that she’ll be able to bring in her crop as usual. Nothing, not even the threat of being shot point blank, can persuade her otherwise.

One of the mysteries of White Material is the reason Maria insists on staying. Almost everyone else has gone, including her former employees, who have better things to do than risk being killed by either the brutal governing regime or the rebel army. Flitting around in flimsy dresses, Maria seems curiously oblivious to her surroundings.

Working from a screenplay that she co-wrote with Marie N’Diaye and Lucie Borleteau, Denis creates a story that works both as an intriguing character study and as a portrait of paradise lost. Maria’s dilemma, while culturally specific, takes on a poignant universality.

Huppert has built a career portraying characters who aren’t necessarily likable but are virtually guaranteed to be interesting. As Maria, she’s not afraid to be unappealing and is sometimes downright exasperating in her stubbornness. Yet one can’t help but admire the character’s steely resolve.

White Material is unhurried in its storytelling but unshakable in its impact.