The Housekeeper ( Une femme de ménage ) ( A House keeper )

The Housekeeper (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Une femme de ménage
Alternate Title: A House keeper
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Ceasar Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
86 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2002 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Claude Berri

Written By:
Claude Berri
Christian Oster

Actors:
Jean-Pierre Bacri ..... Jacques
Émilie Dequenne ..... Lau
Brigitte Catillon ..... Claire
Jacques Frantz ..... Ralph
Axelle Abbadie ..... Hélène
Catherine Breillat ..... Constance
Apollinaire Louis-Philippe Dogue ..... Ernest, le barman
Amalric Gérard ..... Julien
Laurence Colussi ..... La femme à la terrasse
Djura ..... La chanteuse
Nathalie Boutefeu ..... La jeune fille au concert
Xavier Maly ..... Assistant de Jacques
Abel Nahmias ..... Le voisin
Daniel Humair ..... Musici
Emilhenco ..... Musicien (also as Rene Urtrege

Synopsis:

One of France's most respected filmmakers, Claude Berri here brings viewers the story of Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) a middle-aged sound engineer whose wife has just left him. Living on his own for the first time in years, Jacques decides it's high time to clean up his life, literally and figuratively. In short order he hires Laura (Emilie Dequenne, a bright, vivacious young housekeeper, to bring order to his apartment. Laura's presence makes Jacques realize what has been missing from his life, and as their relationship evolves over the subsequent months, both Jacques and Laura gain uncomfortable knowledge of one another, and of themselves.

After his 15-year relationship disintegrates, Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) falls into a depressive funk, which is evidenced by the filth accumulating in his posh Parisian apartment. He hires a local girl, Laura (Emilie Dequenne), to keep the place tidy. She comes on to him. They sleep together. She moves in. In The Housekeeper, it's loneliness as much as any real attraction that draws these two characters together. Director Claude Berri pushes this theme further by introducing supporting characters who also suffer from varying degrees of loneliness. And since the story is told mostly from Jacques' point of view, it begins to seem as if loneliness is the only characteristic he is able to see in another person: His friend Ralph (Jacques Frantz) retreats to the insane obsessions of his chicken farm, and another friend, Clair (Brigitte Catillon), mopes around Paris, looking wounded and lost. In a story brimming with lonely characters, what becomes important is how each of them deals with their sadness. And it's a credit to Berri's direction and the actors involved that watching this doesn't become tiresome. The themes of loneliness, despite their prevalence, are not explicit - this feels like a love story, not a film about being alone. Berri is able to achieve this by focusing on his characters' differences, which takes our attention away from what they have in common. Jacques sleeps with earplugs and listens to refined classical music. Laura, on the other hand, takes raw pleasure in blasting (French) hip-hop. It's a minor quibble between them, but it's indicative of everything that makes them incompatible. Holding it all together are some understated moments of colour and composition, courtesy of cinematographer Eric Gautier.

After his wife leaves him for another man, Jacques hires a housekeeper, Laura, to keep his Paris apartment in order. As he starts increasing her hours and spending more time with her on her days off, Jacques is torn between the pleasure of Laura's company, and the headache that such an intrusion brings to his new domain of singlehood.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 13 April, 2013.