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Les Femmes du 6e étage is a 2011 French film directed by Philippe le Guay. It was written by Le Guay and Jérôme Tonnerre.
Set in Paris in the 1960s, the film is a social comedy that pits the propriety of a middle class French family with the earthiness and humour of Spanish cleaning ladies who work in their apartment building. It follows Monsieur Joubert (Fabrice Luchini
), an unadventurous stockbroker, as he befriends the Spanish maids who live on the top floor of his building. Maria (Natalia Verbeke
), his new maid, introduces him to her compatriots and their simple but happy lives animated by friendship and folklore, in contrast to the relative emotional austerity of his own life. Slowly he recovers his joie de vivre by tasting life's simple pleasures; when his wife (Sandrine Kiberlain
) falsely accuses him of having an affair he moves into an empty room in the servants' quarters upstairs, the first time he has had a bedroom of his own.
Two of the Spanish actresses, Berta Ojea and Concha Galán, did not speak French before the film and learned their roles phonetically.
The film was screened out of competition at the Berlinale in 2011. It was well received by critics and audiences. Le Monde
wrote "The entertainment is as good as the actors are pitch-perfect. Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Kiberlain are among our best stars." Dissenting, La Croix
described the "lazy screenplay, poor dialogue, catalogue of clichés, indigent mise-en-scène". The New York Press reviewed the film at the Rendez-vous with French Film festival in New York, calling it "charming".
Set in Paris in the 1960s, the film is a social comedy that pits the propriety of a middle class French family with the earthiness and humour of Spanish cleaning ladies who work in their apartment building. It follows Monsieur Joubert (Fabrice Luchini
Fabrice Luchini
Fabrice Luchini is a French stage and film actor.-Biography:Fabrice Luchini was born in Île-de-France, Paris, into an Italian immigrant family, who were fruit and vegetable vendors. He grew up around the neighbourhood of Goutte d'Or in Paris's 18th arrondissement...
), an unadventurous stockbroker, as he befriends the Spanish maids who live on the top floor of his building. Maria (Natalia Verbeke
Natalia Verbeke
Natalia Verbeke Leiva, is a Spanish actress, of Argentine and Flemish origin.- Biography :...
), his new maid, introduces him to her compatriots and their simple but happy lives animated by friendship and folklore, in contrast to the relative emotional austerity of his own life. Slowly he recovers his joie de vivre by tasting life's simple pleasures; when his wife (Sandrine Kiberlain
Sandrine Kiberlain
Sandrine Kiberlain is a French actress and singer. She has often worked with the director Laetitia Masson, and has also worked with Benoît Jacquot.Kiberlain received the Prix Romy Schneider in 1995...
) falsely accuses him of having an affair he moves into an empty room in the servants' quarters upstairs, the first time he has had a bedroom of his own.
Two of the Spanish actresses, Berta Ojea and Concha Galán, did not speak French before the film and learned their roles phonetically.
The film was screened out of competition at the Berlinale in 2011. It was well received by critics and audiences. Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
wrote "The entertainment is as good as the actors are pitch-perfect. Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Kiberlain are among our best stars." Dissenting, La Croix
La Croix
La Croix is a daily French general-interest Roman Catholic newspaper. It is published in Paris and distributed throughout the country, with a circulation of just under 110,000 as of 2009...
described the "lazy screenplay, poor dialogue, catalogue of clichés, indigent mise-en-scène". The New York Press reviewed the film at the Rendez-vous with French Film festival in New York, calling it "charming".