The Women on the 6th Floor

Plot

Set in Paris in the 1960s, the film is a social comedy that pits the propriety of a well-to-do 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.

Production

Two of the Spanish actresses, Berta Ojea and Concha Galán, did not speak French before the film and learned their roles phonetically.

Release and reception

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".

Awards

The movie was nominated in three categories at the César Award 2012 : Best costume design, Best production design and Best supporting actress. It won the Best supporting actress César - Carmen Maura.

Discography

The original soundtrack to Les Femmes du 6e étage is included on the CD compilation Les Musiques de Jorge Arriagada pour les films de Philippe Le Guay, released by Canadian label Disques Cinémusique in 2013. French and English liner notes. More information here.