Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)

Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)

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“Would you mind if I touched your calf?”

Synopsis:
When a Parisian maid (Jeanne Moreau) arrives at the country chateau of a man (Michel Picoli) with a foot-fetishing father (Jean Ozenne) and a frigid wife (Françoise Lugagne), she quickly learns that the groundskeeper (Georges Géret) is a Fascist; that the couple’s neighbor (Daniel Ivernel) is perpetually vindictive; and that a young girl (Dominique Sauvage) is at risk from predators.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Class Relations
  • French Films
  • Jeanne Moreau Films
  • Luis Buñuel Films
  • Murder Mystery
  • Servants, Maids, and Housekeepers
  • Strong Females

Review:
Luis Buñuel’s first collaboration with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière was this loosely inspired adaptation of a 1900 novel by Octave Mirbeau, previously adapted by Jean Renoir (1946) with Paulette Goddard in the title role. It’s challenging to know what to make of the storyline here, which starts off as a fairly straightforward tale of a savvy working-class woman navigating bourgeois perversities:

… but takes a decidedly darker turn when one key character dies suddenly, another is brutally murdered, and Moreau shifts into an amateur detective role. Things certainly don’t end in a satisfying or conclusive manner, and we’re left (possibly intentionally so) feeling quite unsettled. Given that this is a Buñuel film, that’s not so surprising — though it’s all accomplished without any overtly surreal imagery. As noted in David Kalat’s review for TCM, “If there’s anything that ties Buñuel’s films together, it is their commitment to intellectual anarchy, their refusal to be tied down by anything so reductive as a simple interpretation.”

Note: A benefit of watching a number of foreign language titles in chronological order is feeling better able to place certain supporting actors who seemed to be cast to type — as is the case here with Françoise Lugagne playing a variation on the same kind of uptight wife she embodied in Claude Chabrol’s Bluebeard (1963).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Jeanne Moreau as Célestine
  • Fine cinematography and sets

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

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One thought on “Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)”

  1. First viewing (5/21/21). Not must-see.

    Bunuel’s surprisingly inert remake of the 1946 Renoir film allows the director (in perhaps his most straightforward film) to indulge his preoccupation with his pet concerns / gripes: the bourgeosie, antisemitism, xenophobia, fetishism, smallmindedness, gossip, and the like.

    Most of the male characters have the central aim of getting into Moreau’s pants. Moreau’s own Machiavellian character is odd in her duplicity and some of her motives are murky. But Moreau handles herself with a consistent grace.

    The film has one fun characterization in (co-writer) Jean-Claude Carrière’s performance as the local priest – who, when talking with Madame Monteil (Lugagne), is shocked to hear that her husband demands sex with her at least twice a week (horrors! – though demanding it is another thng) and strongly reminds her that she should not ever seek any personal pleasure during sex (!).

    Overall, the film is frustratingly lethargic throughout, even though it’s reasonably well-directed. And its conclusion is lazy.

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