Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Women on the 6th Floor



STORYLINE: Paris, in the early 1960s. Jean-Louis Joubert is a serious but uptight stockbroker, married to Suzanne, a starchy class-conscious woman and father of two arrogant teenage boys, currently in a boarding school. The affluent man lives a steady yet boring life. At least until, due to fortuitous circumstances, Maria, the charming new maid at the service of Jean-Louis' family, makes him discover the servants' quarter on the sixth floor of the luxury building he owns and lives in. There live a crowd of lively Spanish maids who will help Jean-Louis to open to a new civilization and a new approach of life. In their company - and more precisely in the company of beautiful Maria - Jean-Louis will gradually become another man, a better man.
Carmen Maura in “The Women on the 6th Floor”
Fabrice Luchini in "The Women on the 6th Floor"

I fell in love with the vntage color of this film. It really has an elegant 60's feel about it. And it wasn't until now that I knew of the prejudices between the French and the Spaniards. 

If a man doesn’t want me, it’s his loss.
— María, Les femmes du 6ème étage (2010)
Natalia Verbeke as Maria Gonzalez in "The Women on the 6th Floor"

A feel good movie in a way, "Les femmes du 6e étage" is much more than just that. It is also and none the less a committed film which, although set in the 1960s, denounces evils still plaguing today's society like, for example, the appalling way immigrants are exploited by their employers and ill-thought of by a majority of the natives of their "home" country, the selfishness of tourists who will not know about the political and social situation of the countries where they spend their holidays (1962's Spain can be replaced in the 2000s by Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia and many other countries)... Conversely the film is a call for tolerance and open-mindedness, for listening to one's heart rather than one's interest. But be reassured, this dimension, although crucial, remains underlying. There are no such things as preaching or political slogans, only a fine cocktail of good acting and tender humor. And sincerity.-Guy

 Fabrice Luchini’s mastery of the “mildly interested/creepy stare”. I’ve been watching a bunch of his movies lately, and I just finished The Women on the 6th Floor. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the movie yet, but he did do this stare more times than usual.-grilled cheese and pearls


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3 comments:

  1. I'm not sure if this is something I would be into. :/

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks really cute! I think I could get Kyle to watch it.

    ReplyDelete

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