Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)(Le Journal d'une femme de chambre)
Dir: Luis Buñuel
France/Italy, 1964, French, 97mins, DCP
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Georges Geret, Michel Piccoli
A crucial turning point in Buñuel’s career, this delightful saucy comedy ushered in his golden era in France and his long-term collaboration with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière. Shifting to the rise of Fascism in the 1930s, his wicked adaptation of the Octave Mirbeau’s novel allows for political unrest to run parallel to the story’s sexual perversions. Starring as the beautiful Parisian maid who becomes entangled in sexual hypocrisy and scandal with her provincial employer, Jeanne Moreau’s baleful charisma impeccably complements Buñuel’s satirical elegance in this unsettling mood piece.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Best Actress
