the housekeeper (une femme de ménage) 2002 region free dvd5 french bcbc

The Housekeeper (Une femme de ménage) is a 2002 french film directed by Claude Berri and starring Jean-Pierre Bacri and Émilie Dequenne.

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Synopsis

After his wife leaves him, sound engineer Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) unwittingly opens a new chapter in life by hiring inexperienced cleaning lady Laura (Emilie Dequenne) in this French romantic comedy. As Laura works to improve her housekeeping skills, the two become close ... until one day she moves in with him altogether.



Cast

Jean-Pierre Bacri, Émilie Dequenne, Brigitte Catillon, Jacques Frantz, Axelle Abbadie, Catherine Breillat, Apollinaire Louis-Philippe Dogue, Amalric Gerard



The Housekeeper (Une femme de ménage) movie review

An absolutely charming story about making a fresh start, Une Femme De Menage is a beautifully observed, sensitive and funny film filled with imagery and promise. Claude Berri’s adaptation of Christian Oster’s novel is full of good humour and truthful representation of loneliness. With images telling their own story under a glorious piano solo, we first meet Jacques in his Paris apartment.



It’s a mess and so is his life. He pops out to buy a baguette at the local store and sees an advertisement on the local message board offering the services of a housekeeper. There’s some eye-rolling as Jacques makes arrangements by phone to meet in a nearby café and not his apartment, and we wait with him as he inspects all the women who come through the door. No, Laura has not cleaned before, but she is sure she will like it, because ‘she likes cleaning other people’s houses’. We smile inwardly as he tidies up in preparation for Laura’s first visit on Monday, taking down all photos as if to leave no personal references on display.



The development of the relationship between these two opposites is utterly compelling; they are different ages, their taste in music is diametrically opposed and they enjoy different things. What a delicious recipe for a comic adventure of the heart! And Jean-Pierre Bacri and Emilie Dequenne are splendid as Jacques and Laura. Bacri allows Jacques’s emotional pain to be clearly on display; Dequenne’s Laura is a breath of fresh air with an infectious zest for living. While Laura has just broken up from her boyfriend, her concern is not a broken heart, but the fact she has nowhere to stay. The most interesting thing is that we have no idea where the relationship (or the film) is heading.



But Jacques is not the only lonely one. There’s his good friend Claire who is still hurting from her husband leaving her, his ex-wife (played by filmmaker Catherine Breillat) trying to claw her way back into his life, hermit-like Ralph who has buried himself with his chickens (painting their portraits and then eating them!) in his Brittany farmhouse, and new divorcee Helene who is learning to live through the drama of her divorce. This is a film where the details matter. It’s about the mood and the nuance of the moment, the awkward silences as their share their first meal, the atmosphere at the local bar and the incongruity classical music competing against its loud contemporary counterpart. An unexpected night visitor prompts the trip to Brittany: a new location, a new hairstyle, a new role.



From housekeeper to mistress, Laura revels in the change, pursuing Jacques as if he were a god. ‘I love you. I’ll wait for you to love me back…’ Every moment with Laura is like a step in the direction of change for Jacques. After all, the man who ‘doesn’t dance’ and ‘doesn’t swim’ is able to find his feet and stay afloat. ‘Dive in the water’ Helene urges Jacques, when he complains that it is too cold ‘All it takes, is a little courage.’ The resolution is truthful and realistic, opening a window filled with sunshine that peers into the future. If you answer an advertisement for a housekeeper, the story may not unfold exactly this way, but the characters all ring true. Une Femme de Menage is a joy and the characters will linger.