Third time lucky: Benoît Jacquot's DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID is the best of the lot so far

Better than Buñuel's with Jeanne Moreau? Better than Renoir's with Paulette Goddard? Yes -- in that this newest version of DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID, directed (and co-adapted with Hélène Zimmer) by Benoît Jacquot, seems to TrustMovies to be truer in spirit, if not entirely in the letter, to its source material, the novel by Octave Mirbeau. The Buñuel seemed more Buñuel than Mirbeau in many ways, while the Renoir was perhaps a tad too Hollywood (well, it was made there).

The Renoir also appeared at a time -- 1946 -- when American movies could not begin to show us anything approaching real life, even under the French hand of that master. Both films, even if they reflect their makers more than Mirbeau, do hold up quite well today. As much as I liked Jacquot's new version, I find myself wondering if it will hold up as well 50 or 70 years hence. (You may be able to determine this, but I won't.)

In any case, M. Jacquot, shown at left, has given us a movie in which everything -- from the sets and costumes to the incidents and characterizations -- ring true. In the chambermaid role has been cast one of France's finest and most versatile young actors, Léa Seydoux, who can now add this landmark to her exceedingly diverse resume which ranges from Bond girl to arthouse fave. Ms Seydoux, shown above and below, does not disappoint. She makes her character of Célestine by turns angry, loving, prideful, inquiring, hurt, strong, weak -- and always real.

By the end of this relatively short movie, we understand her perhaps as well as we possibly can (and better, I think, than we understand the Célestines played by Goddard and Moreau). Yes, it's fine to leave something to the imagination and the mysterious, but how wonderful it is to enter the life and mind of a character this completely. Seydoux and Jacquot make it possible.

The supporting cast is crackerjack, as well, with the most unusual work being done by that great French everyman, Vincent Lindon (above and only recently seen in The Measure of a Man). Here, as the groundskeeper, Joseph, Lindon plays a character quite different from his usual -- powerful, frightening, sexual and shockingly anti-Semitic -- as he tilts our Célestine, as well as the movie, toward the dark side,

But, again, Ms Seydoux makes the transition fully understandable, believable and sad. We see her not simply with the stupid and lecherous husband and nasty wife at whose home in the provinces she works, but also, in flashback, at other employ, particularly tending to a tubercular young man (Vincent Lacoste, above, right) who is being cared for by his kindly grandmother. We see her flirting with the prospect of employ at a bordello, and especially in the push-and-pull of a tricky and difficult relationship with her employment agent (very well performed by Dominique Reymond).

With each new situation, we see a new side of Célestine, how she behaves and thinks, and by the finale, all these allow the character to grow and deepen into a kind of progressive reality movies are seldom able to furnish. This chambermaid and her diary should stick with you long after the end credits have rolled.

From Cohen Media Group and running just 95 minutes, the movie opens this Friday in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal. Click here and scroll down to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Benoît Jacquot goes royal courtside with intelligent costumer FAREWELL, MY QUEEN

Benoît Jacquot is back this year with one of his most accessible and, I suspect, main-stream art-house movies since À tout de suite. FAREWELL, MY QUEEN, which deals with the intrigues both upstairs and downstairs during the final days at the court of Louis XVI, may initially bring to mind a French-ified and much earlier version of Downton Abbey. You needn't worry: the movie soon has the Jacquot stamp all over it: that skewed view; the interest in things farther afield from those of the standard historical costume drama; the filmmaker's concern with women and what they need, feel and think; and a very modern sensibility brought to bear upon the past.

The latter two points, I think, are much at work here, and when Jacquot, shown at left, has a theme as fraught as this one -- royalty, coming to terms with the change that is afoot and understanding that its end may be near -- the tension created provides a thrust to this film that was almost entirely missing from Jacquot's earlier period-piece Adolphe but was quite present in his even earlier, and probably best film so far, Sade. (One could suggest as best his terrific rendition of the Marivaux play La fausse suivante, which, unless you've watched the French channel, TV5, over the years, you've probably not seen. Do catch it, if ever you can.)

The film concentrates on three women: Marie Antoinette (given a wonderfully rich and nuanced portrayal by the fine Diane Kruger, above); her favored lady-in-waiting (another knockout performance from Lea Seydoux, below, from Midnight in Paris and Mysteries of Lisbon),

and an especially interesting, if brief, view of one woman, played by Virginie Ledoyen (below, in green), as the Queen's lover, who seems to have taken her pleasure with many of the men and women, high and low, around the court.

How our ladies deport themselves and use each other is fascinating, sad and real, and what we learn from this film, for all its skewed view, is so much more than we got from Sofia Coppola's attempt at depicting French royalty. (Benoît's view is much more entertaining, too.)

There are also wonderful performances from a supporting cast that includes actors/directors Noémie Lvovsky and Xavier Beauvois, plus Lolita Chammah and the upcoming, gorgeous heart-throb Vladimir Consigny, as a faux Venetian gondolier whose pole is in much demand. The finale -- suspenseful, surprising, ironic and wicked -- is a wonder to behold in a number of ways.
Bravo, Jacquot!

The film, from Cohen Media Group and running 100 minutes, opens tomorrow, Friday, July 13, in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. To see all currently scheduled cities (17 of them), theaters and playdates, click here. 

Rendez-vous: Benoît Jacquot's FAREWELL, MY QUEEN and the Coulin sisters' 17 GIRLS

Rendezvous With French Cinema's near-regular Benoît Jacquot is back this year with one of his most accessible and, I suspect, mainstream art-house movies, FAREWELL, MY QUEEN (Les adieux à la reine), dealing with the intrigues both upstairs and downstairs during the final days at the court of Louis XVI. Initially, the film may bring to mind a French-ified and much earlier version of Downton Abbey. You needn't worry: the movie soon has the Jacquot stamp all over it: the skewed view; the interest in things farther afield from those of the standard historical costume drama; the filmmaker's interest in women and what they need, feel and think; and a very modern sensibility brought to bear upon the past. The latter two points, I think, are much at work here, and when Jacquot has a theme as fraught as this one -- royalty, coming to terms with the change that is afoot and understanding that its end may be near -- the tension created provides a thrust to this film that was almost entirely missing from Jacquot's earlier period-piece Adolphe.

The film concentrates on three women: Marie Antoinette (given a wonderfully rich and nuanced portrayal by the fine Diane Kruger, above); her favored lady-in-waiting (another knockout performance from Lea Seydoux (below, from Midnight in Paris and Mysteries of Lisbon), and an especially interesting, if brief, one from Virginie Ledoyen (further below, in green), as the Queen's lover, who seems to have taken her pleasure with many of the men and women, high and low, around the court.

How our ladies deport themselves and use each other is fascinating, sad and real, and what we learn from this film, for all its skewed view, is so much more than we got from Sofia Coppola's attempt at depicting French royalty. (Benoît's view is much more entertaining, too.) There are also wonderful performances from a supporting cast that includes actors/directors Noémie Lvovsky and Xavier Beauvois, plus Lolita Chammah and the upcoming, gorgeous heart-throb Vladimir Consigny, as a faux Venetian gondolier whose pole is in much demand. The finale -- suspenseful, surprising, ironic and wicked -- is a wonder to behold in a number of ways. Bravo, Jacquot!

The film screens again tonight, March 3, at IFC Center at 7pm and tomorrow, March 4, at 6pm at BAM.  M. Jacquot will be present at both screenings. If you don't make these two screenings, take heart: The film has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Cohen Media Group.

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Taken from an event that happened in France a few years back, when a number of high-school girls decided to get pregnant and have their babies without any help or interest -- besides the original insemination -- from their fellows, 17 GIRLS (17 filles) proves a surprisingly smart, thoughtful and believable movie. These young ladies seem quite real and no more or less intelligent than French girls of this time and place might be. The filmmaking duo -- sisters Delphine and Muriel Coulin -- have created a movie that's alternately funny, sweet, sad, and a little depressing, though not particularly deep. Nor can it be, given that its heroines are relatively clueless youngsters who think they know what's going on and what's ahead of them, but then realize too late that they've bitten off more than they can chew -- at their present age, at least.

What especially makes the Coulins' movie -- their first attempt at full-length writing and directing -- worthwhile (other than its array of very good and very specific performances from the girls) is its take on how this rather bizarre situation is looked upon by society at large: from parents and friends to the school's teachers and administration. In general, French society, as shown, seems more enlightened than you might expect. 17 Girls screens tonight, March 3, at 9:30pm at IFC Center and tomorrow, March 4, at 1pm at the Walter Reade. This film, too, has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Strand Releasing.