Details
Movie Description
Claude Berri (JEAN DE FLORETTE, LUCIE AUBRAC) delivers yet another laudable entry on love and loneliness in UNE FEMME DE MENAGE. The story, written with efficiency and compassion, follows Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a middle-aged sound producer unable to keep his apartment clean as he struggles to come to terms with his recent divorce. To solve the former, and unintentionally also the latter problem, he responds to an ad for a housekeeper. Laura (Émilie Dequenne), a beautiful girl in her twenties, answers Jacques' call and, needless to say, he hires her upon their first meeting, even despite the noticeable spots of dirt on her face. While a romance between the two appears inevitable, Berri keeps the story fresh by painting the lovers as alternately ambivalent and desirous. Eloquent photography draws the audience further into the narrative, with beatific landscapes of the French countryside, Paris, and the beach, as well as depictions of Jacques and Laura in romantic shadows, golden hour sunlight, and quiet Parisian silhouettes. French Director Catherine Breillat (ROMANCE) appears as Jacques' ex-wife Constance, providing the lighthearted and mostly comedic film with some needed gravity. Her presence suggests loneliness comes not from lack of love but as love's consequences. Even as Laura lifts Jacques from his doldrums, love remains the vice to which he is most vulnerable.
This film was part of Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2003 presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Unifrance, and The French Film Office/Unifrance USA, together with French Cultural Services.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailer
Featurette - 1. Making Of
DVD-Rom Features:
Weblinks
Theatrical Release: JULY 11, 2003 (NY)
Industry Reviews
"....Graceful and serious, yet not overly so. This easy-to-take movie gets everything just right and is a pleasure to watch..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (07/11/2003)
"...THE HOUSEKEEPER promises twists and turns, and delivers them..."
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Glieberman (08/22/2003)
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