Jean-Pierre Bourguignon

The documentary "Solving the Bonnet Problem" follows the work of three mathematicians as they collaborate to solve a long-standing geometrical problem proposed by Pierre Ossian-Bonnet. Alongside their work, the film explores the lives and contributions of Bonnet and his contemporary Gaston Darboux, as well as the history of French mathematics in the 19th century. Captivating computer graphics help unravel intricate concepts and make them accessible to all.

What is striking when you talk with mathematicians is that sparkle in their eyes, and their sudden joyful voice trying to share with you a concept, a theory. They continuously use words such as invention, beauty, freedom. You then ask yourself : how such a rich language, this quasi-philosophical proposition about the world becomes rejected by a majority, 'the only discipline where one prides itself to be bad at it'!