The Women on the 6th Floor

Director: Phillipe Le Guay
Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke and Carmen Maura
Releasing in cinemas: 26  December 2011
Rated: PG

This frothy feel-good French farce is a kind of Gallic Upstairs, Downstairs if you will.

The action mostly takes place inside a Paris apartment block in the early 60s. Lots of Spanish women who have fled Franco’s repressive regime have settled in France where they are happy to work as domestic servants in French households. They live in small apartments on the top floor of the residential blocks, and often do without hot water and proper facilities. The way in which the women approach their daily chores can be beautifully summed up by the scene in which they tackle their work while singing along to the cute 60s novelty song Itsy-Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini, which is playing on the radio.

Jean-Louis Jouvert (Fabrice Luchini, from the recent Potiche) is a stuffy, pedantic and humourless stockbroker whose middle-class life has become rather dull and routine. For example, he insists that his morning egg must be boiled a certain way or else he is not satisfied. When the family’s long time maid moves out, they hire young and beautiful Maria (Venezuelan actress Natalia Verbeke), who quickly proves to be an asset. Jean-Louis is attracted to Maria’s thirst for life, and finds himself spending more time on the sixth floor with the women.

Not everyone is happy with his presence, especially the outspoken Carmen (Lola Duenas). But Jean-Louis soon takes charge of fixing their plumbing, as well as helping them with other daily needs. He also instructs the women how to invest their savings. Eventually he leaves his icy, bridge-playing socialite wife Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlaine) to move onto the sixth floor to live with the maids. They introduce him to a world of music, rich food, and laughter that changes his outlook on life. At first his wife and two adolescent sons are horrified by this decision, but eventually are bemused by the transformation. “Those up there are alive; down here we’re dead,” Suzanne remarks at one stage.

Veteran director Phillipe Le Guay (Nightshift, The Cost Of Living) has drawn upon his own childhood memories for the inspiration behind the film, and there is an obvious affection for these women and the way they embrace their lot in life. While the film deals with issues of class differences, the clash between cultures, the xenophobic French attitudes, social status, and exploitation of the working class, Le Guay maintains a light touch throughout that ensures the material never becomes hectoring or overly bitter. Le Guay, who co-wrote the script with Jerome Tonnerre (My Best Friend, etc), plays the situation for its comic potential, but he also throws in a few well-observed social barbs.
Veteran French actor Luchini brings his usual fastidious persona, self-effacing style and comic timing to his role. He has made several films with Le Guay, and the pair has developed a rapport and familiarity that adds to the light tone.

Le Guay has assembled a marvellous ensemble cast that includes Almodovar regulars Carmen Maura and Lola Duenas, to bring the characters to life. The ensemble cast brings such life and vitality to their characters that their thirst for life is almost infectious.

Greg King

Read more of Greg King's reviews at filmreviews.net.au