Customer Reviews

Diary of a Chambermaid [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my favorite Buñel film. The story is stunningly presented, an absolute work of art, unbelievably subtle but always concrete. It is like a great symphony: every note is perfect.

Surprisingly (considering the title) Le journal d'une femme de chambre is not about sex, nor is it a journal for that matter. It is about politics, sexual politics of course, but also domestic politics, manor politics, and nation-state politics. The time is the thirties as fascism moves toward its mesmerizing stranglehold on a decadent Europe. The place is France (Normandy, I imagine) where the republicans hold power. In the streets are those who would be brown suits and among them is Joseph (Georges Geret), groundskeeper for a petite bourgeois family of degenerate eccentrics. He is an incipient Nazi, a xenophobic anti-Semitic man who worships brute force, an ignorant man that every French movie-goer knows will be a Nazi-collaborator once France is under the occupation.

The story is seen from the point of view of Celestine, a chambermaid of some sophistication (and an abiding, but understandable duplicity), a Parisian who has come to work for the family in the country. She is played by the incomparable Jeanne Moreau of the plastic face, a woman of many guises, many moods and an ability to depict with a glance any emotion. She is a great star of the French stage and screen who plays the part effortlessly, with finesse and a fine subtlety. The screenplay by Buñel and the brilliant Jean-Claude Carriere (who penned so many outstanding films, Bell de Jour (1967), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Valmont (1989), The Ogre (1996), etc.) is an adaptation of the novel by Octave Mirbeau. There is a Hollywood film of the same name starring Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith and Judith Anderson, directed by Jean Renoir that I haven't seen, released in 1946. I understand the treatment was more comedic and conventional.

Surrealist Luis Buñel's film is perhaps best described as a comédie noire, a genre antecedent to the familiar (and somewhat similar) film noir. In the latter the comedy is usually incidental and there is no attempt at any great philosophic or symbolic significance. Here Buñel not only makes a statement about the nature of the relationship between bourgeois Europe in the thirties and fascism, but even delves into the primeval nature of women and gives us a sharp look at a woman's place in bourgeois society. Celestine is duplicitous because she has to be to survive. She uses men the way the society uses her.

Be sure and pay close attention to the final scene inside and outside the café and consider the implications of what is being shown. What is being suggested? Will Joseph finally get the punishment he so richly deserves? Or did Celestine make the choice she made out of fear? Is the union between Joseph and Celestine symbolic of that between the fascists and Europe?

For those interested in this last theme I highly recommend Vittoria De Sica's brilliant The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971).

Second movie of spanish director Luis Bunuel to have the honour to enter the most praised Criterion DVD collection after THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE a few weeks ago, DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID is presented in a perfect widescreen black and white copy with a well-balanced sound. As bonus features, you will enjoy a theatrical trailer, a printed interview of Luis Bunuel and a 25 minutes interview of screenplay writer Jean-Claude Carrière who wrote or co-wrote some of the most important movies of the last thirty years.

Adapted from a novel of Octave Mirbeau, DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID was directed in 1964 by a Luis Bunuel already sanctified by two generations of movie lovers. French actor Michel Piccoli replaces the bunuelian Fernando Rey in the role of a member of the bourgeoisie slightly decadent and ridiculous. Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim), as the chambermaid, is a young woman coming from Paris and discovering what is like to live in the "deep" France of the early thirties.

DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID can not be classified in any specific genre. It's a comedy yes, but with a very serious murder in the middle of the story. It's a detective story yes, but with harsch political critiques. In fact, it's simply a Luis Bunuel movie with his unique personal world impregnating a novel he admired from his childhood on. Highly recommended.

A DVD zone your library.

Bunuel was a restless director and this, the second adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's classic novel, is yet another example of his mastery over his chosen medium. Bunuel takes liberties with the novel, adapting it to suit his interests: he changes the setting to France of the 1930s, allowing for the opportunity to tie the rise of nationalism and anti-semitism to the decadence of the bourgeoisie, which he tackles with obvious relish.

The film is funny and scathing at the same time, relentlessly pursuing its own agenda to the delight and probable perplexion of the viewer. This is one of the most accessible of Bunuel's late films, which isn't to say it's better or worse than the rest - it's just a bit different in its use of more traditional modes of storytelling. He asks the viewer questions and when you think he's giving the answer you'll find the rug swiftly pulled from under your feet with the delight of a born prankster. He is, of course, much more than that but one of the many pleasures his work offers is the entertaining (and complete) control he has over the content, the unseen hand you feel expertly guiding the film to its effective conclusion.

Entertaining, thoughtful and with another wonderful performance by Jeanne Moreau, this is an easy introduction to Bunuel's oeuvre. "Mystery is the essential element in every work of art." -Luis Bunuel

This is a thought-provoking work, ripe with intriguing ambiguity, in which Bunuel deftly employs absurdity, realism, and melodrama to comment on the self-serving politics and morality of the bourgeoisie and of those who aspire to join it.

The VHS transfer is quite nice, doing justice to the lush Franscope cinematography. The subtitles are crisp and easy to read. Until the DVD comes along (supposedly quite soon), this would be a fine addition to anyone's collection.

The Diary of a Chambermaid is Luis Brunuel's masterpiece. Though it satirizes countless aspects of French society during the years leading up to WWII (1930, to be precise), includes several intriguing character studies, and carries off a complex plot, it still manages to captivate. Though there is an obvious political statement about fascism, Brunuel seems to have been more intent on showcasing the complacent attitudes of the bourgeoisie that allowed Europe to crumble into the throes of war.

Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a beautiful Parisian chambermaid to moves to the Normandy countryside to work in the home of the wealthy Monteil family. The cast of characters she discovers there are laughable. The family patriarch, Monsieur Rabour, has a foot fetish (with which Celestine has no choice but to comply); his daughter is a frigid woman who cares about nothing more than her imported goodies (and her unvaluables too: she counts sugar cubes to make sure the staff hasn't been stealing); her husband is an amourous fiend who seeks moments of "amour fou" (mad love) with Celestine. Even Celestine's fellow servant-types have their quirks, except not so funny. Joseph, the groundskeeper, is a ruthless racist and sadist who denounces "kikes and wops," tortures animals and rapes and murders a child of whom Celestine was fond. All the while, he is active in a right-winged Facist movement to rid France of foreigners and destroy the republic.

It is the murder of young Claire, and her desire to see justice done, that keeps Celestine at the Monteil estate after her master dies (clutching a pair of shoes, no less). She quickly focuses on Joseph. She accuses him directly but fails to get a confession--though he didn't deny the act, either. There's only one problem: Celestine is forced to fight a sexual attraction to Joseph. In the end, she uses sex as her last shot at extracting a confession.

This film does not end with justice; nor does Celestine remain a character of moral fiber. In the film's last scene, with Celestine having just proven herself to be the ultimate opportunist, the countrymen are marching through the streets toward right-wing brutality and fascism.

From beginning to end, The Diary of a Chambermaid is an amusing look at everything Luis Brunuel apparently hated: the bourgeoisie, complacency, fascism, Catholic (pay attention to the scene in which Madame Monteil asks the priest how to cope with her husband's advances), and the goverment. This isn't knee-slapping funny, but a small slice of wisdom served up in black and white.

What hypocrites people are, Bunuel seems to be saying in this amusing but rather sour look at French petit bourgeoise during the 1930s. Celestine (Jeanne Moreau) has come to work at the country estate of the Monteils. She's from Paris, shrewd and attractive, and a magnet for every man she meets. And what a collection there is. The woman of the house is frigid and finds more comfort in possessions and neatness than in her husband. Her husband, denied the pleasures of the bed, is constantly seeking relief from almost every female servant he can force himself on. His father in law, who lives with them, is an aging fetishist. Joseph, the gamekeeper, is a fascist. Their neighbor, Captain Mauger, is in a continuing state of frustrated rage against the Monteils. Celestine is cool and somewhat amused by it all, but ultimately decides to return to Paris. Then a young girl she met is raped and murdered in the woods. Celestine is sure she knows who the killer is and decides to stay. If the police can't find the evidence to capture him, she'll provide it one way or another.

Bunuel puts a jaundiced eye on everyone. The captain may may be convinced of the honor of the army, but he lies about his neighbor. The priest and confessor of the lady of the manor is called upon to give her marital advice, which he does by saying that twice a week is too much and she mustn't enjoy it. The father-in-law is over-civilized but with a penchant for soiled ladies' boots. Joseph raves on about order, faith and country, but believes a goose tastes better if it has been tortured before being killed.

And there is Celestine herself. She knows her power over these men but plays with them in a rather abstracted manner. She wants the person she believes killed the girl to be caught, and is prepared to bed him to do so. She ultimately marries the captain, who brings money and a certain position to her, but it hardly is a marriage of love or even affection. When the captain tells her he has changed his will, Celestine looks a little too thoughtful.

The first half of the movie is a sardonic and amusing look at manners, centered around Celestine. The second half of the movie is darker and not so amusing. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The Criterion DVD image is in great shape.

The Diary of a Chambermaid (Luis Bunuel, 1964)

When one sees that a film is directed by Luis Bunuel, normally a savagely funny satirist of bourgeois sensibilities, and based on a novel by Octave Mirbeau, that most boring of fin-de-siecle decadents, one goes into the resulting movie with a few preconceptions. Diary of a Chambermaid, while an interesting little movie, will fulfill none of them.

The gorgeous Jeanne Moreau (almost eighty years of age as I write this, and still going strong) stars as Celestine, the titular character, who goes to work in the sticks for a decidedly strange family. The beginning starts out in an amusing enough Upstairs/Downstairs mode, with Celestine trying to find her place in the ranks of both the house's owners and the hired help. It's relatively obvious that every male in the household is sniffing after her skirts-- the foot-fetishist grandfather, the oversexed man of the house, the brutish gardener (shades of Lady Chatterley's Lover can't have been coincidental, given how fresh its obscenity trial must have been in the minds of Bunuel and fellow screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere). Even the neighbor seems to have his eye on her. Things take a drastic turn when a local child is murdered (there's no mystery here, though; we are shown who the murderer is just before the deed occurs). Celestine is sure she knows the murderer's identity, and takes it upon herself to come up with the evidence necessary to send him to jail.

What will stay with the viewer long after the film is over is the backdrop, more than anything-- the rising tide of French fascism so starkly depicted in the movie. Other than that, there's not much to it that isn't somewhat predictable; Bunuel is a great filmmaker, to be sure, but this one is one of his weaker efforts. He coaxes decent performances out of just about everyone in the film, but none of them really reach the heights he obtained in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, for example; it's decently paced, but drags in spots. The one aspect of the film which can't be criticized (however minor those critcisms may be) is the camerawork; whoever scouted the locations did a fine, fine job.

An interesting movie, but not as good as Bunuel can be. ***

Octave Mirbeau's book was first filmed by Jean Renoir, but Luis Bunuel's superior version makes the story his own as he shifts certain aspects of the novel to fit his own interests and brings in a wonderful cast, including the luminous Jeanne Moreau. Set in 1930s France, at a time when fascism was making inroads, Moreau's Celestine has come from Paris to serve a bourgeois family on their country estate. Seen through her eyes, we find decadance, eccentricity and malevolence at every turn as she copes with a fetishist, a lecher and even a murderer. Ultimately, we find that Celestine herself is also an opportunist. Or is she just a survivor?

This is one of Bunuel's most accessible films. If you're interested in this director, or European film in general, this would be a great introduction. This is the first screenplay with longtime collaborator Jean-Claude Carriere, and an 18-minute interview with Carriere should add to your enjoyment of this excellent b&w dvd print. The dvd also includes a trailer, which is really a mini-interview with Moreau.

French with optional English subtitles.

This gem of a film presents a subtle criticism of the lifestyle and values of the wealthy and not so wealthy in France just before World War II. The story centers on a young woman named Celestine (played by the beautiful and talented Jeanne Moreau) who is starting her new job as a `femme de chambre' (translated as chambermaid, but not entirely appropriate) in a country manor. She encounters a wide range of people from the wealthy owners of the manor to the lowest laborers. The story is essentially about the interactions and world-views of those who live in and around the manor. Each of the characters is in some sense a microcosm of French society as a whole. Various aspects of French society were characterized by these individuals, and this film is essentially a social commentary (and criticism) of all levels of society. This film paints a not-very-pretty picture of all levels of French society prior to the war. Some of the other reviews have details about the characters and plot that I won't repeat other than to say that they are spot on.

One of the reasons that I gave this film 5 stars was that beyond just being a good film, it is a terrific example of the film makers art. Everything about this film is just so well done. Great acting, well (and subtly) written script, an obvious film to include in the Criterion Collection. If I had any negative statement to make about this film, I would say that I agree with one of the other reviewers (R. A. Rubin) in that it is an anti-Fascist film, but totally avoids the other side of the evil coin - Communism.

Celestine (Jeanne Moreau), a street-smart Parisian woman, has recently accepted the position as a chambermaid for an aristocratic family that resides in a rural area of France. When Celestine arrives to the location of her new employer she quickly identifies the different roles of the aristocratic family and the servants. The old man and owner of the château enjoy his seclusion where he dives into his tabooed desires while the daughter is unpleasantly controlling of everything that takes place in the château. Tthe daughter's husband is constantly on the hunt for new trophies, either game or women. And the hired farmer who takes care of the estate is planning a fascist coup while the female servants are persistently oppressed by traditions and values set by social environment.

Luis Buñuel's unique persona shines through in Diary of a Chambermaid as it presents politics on a grass root level. Yet, it is a very different film from his other films as it deals with a different theme and is present in a different angle than his other creations. Buñuel displays several upper-class rules and expectations, but also the hypocrisy behind the aristocratic values. For example, Buñuel shows a very realistic view of the socioeconomic oppression of women in an environment that is built on traditions and social rules. These customs are under scrutiny as Celestine silently transgresses from the norms of her society. In the end, Buñuel offers his view of an aristocratic life style and its influence on the people in it, which leaves the audience with a terrific cinematic experience that offers both insights and thoughts.