The Chambermaid on the Titanic
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''The Chambermaid on the Titanic'' ( es, La camarera del Titanic, french: La Femme de chambre du Titanic, it, L'immagine del desiderio) is a 1997 French-Italian-Spanish drama film directed by
Bigas Luna José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong emphasis on the erotic, often related to food, something for which he admitted a strong pa ...
, starring Oliver Martinez,
Romane Bohringer Romane Bohringer (; born 14 August 1973) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, and costume designer. She is the daughter of Richard Bohringer and sister of Lou Bohringer. Her parents named her after Roman Polanski. She won the Cé ...
and
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón Aitana Sánchez-Gijón de Angelis (born 5 November 1968) is a Spanish-Italian film actress. Biography She was born in Rome on 5 November 1968, to a Spanish father , a history lecturer exiled from Francoism, and an Italian mother, Fiorella d ...
. It is based on the 1991 novel ''La Femme de chambre du Titanic'' by
Didier Decoin Didier Decoin (born 13 March 1945) is a French screenwriter and writer awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1977. Biography He is the son of filmmaker Henri Decoin. He began his career as a newspaper journalist at ''France Soir'', ''Le Figaro'' and ...
. The film is known variously by its French title, ''La Femme de chambre du Titanic'', and also by the shortened English title ''The Chambermaid'', which was adopted in late August 1998 to avoid the impression that it was trying to cash in on the success of James Cameron's popular film, ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'', which was released the year before ''The Chambermaid on the Titanic'' made its US debut.


Plot

In 1912, the protagonist, Horty, leads an uneventful life as a foundry worker in the
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
region of northern France with his wife, Zoe, "the most beautiful woman in town." The owner of the foundry where Horty works, Simeon, lusts after Zoe. When Horty wins a company athletic contest, Simeon's prize is a ticket to
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
to see the sailing of the RMS ''Titanic''. The night before the ''Titanic'' departs, Horty meets a beautiful young woman named Marie, who explains that she is a chambermaid aboard the ''Titanic''. Marie has nowhere to sleep because all of the local hotels are full, and Horty agrees to share his room. Their encounter is seemingly chaste, with Marie sleeping in the bed while Horty spends the night in the armchair. However, in the middle of the night Marie tries to seduce him. Whether or not she succeeds is ambiguous, and she is gone when Horty awakes. Attending the departure of the ''Titanic'', Horty spots a photographer taking a picture of Marie, and asks the photographer for the photo. Upon returning home, Horty finds that he has been promoted, but this good news is dampened by rumors of an affair between his wife, Zoe, and the foundry owner, Simeon. A bitter and jealous Horty visits a local bar to drown his sorrows. Drunk, he tells friends and co-workers about the lovely chambermaid he met in Southampton, earning him free drinks and tips. Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'', Horty's tales become increasingly erotic, and the viewer is never sure what is truth and what is fantasy. Horty catches the attention of a traveling entertainer named Zeppe. Zeppe offers Horty the chance to escape his dismal dreary life. Horty agrees and begins to work with Zeppe, converting his story into a play. One night, Zoe attends the play; later, Horty explains his tale as a work of fiction. However, Horty's story becomes more elaborate and romantic attracting a larger audience for each re-telling steadily driving a wedge between him and his wife. Eventually Zoe joins in the performance, playing the role of Marie poignantly fighting against the waves after the ''Titanic'' sinks. During the performance, Horty recognises Marie in the audience and leaves the stage mid-performance to follow her when she walks out. Marie's husband catches him outside and explains that Marie (not her real name) never boarded the Titanic as she is just a petty thief who did not find money in his bedrooom the night he shared a room with her. Zoe who followed her husband, sees Marie who informs Zoe that she only came to tonight's show to get the monies she believes she is owed.


Cast


Reception

''The Chambermaid on the Titanic'' received an 81% fresh rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 16 reviews. Mick LaSelle of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' praised ''Chambermaid'' for what he felt was a rare honest portrayal of male sexuality. He also called it "a tribute to longing itself" saying that that made it "unique." Bill Gallo of the ''
Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
'' called it "beautiful, complex ndoccasionally overwrought" and "a rich meditation on the uses of imagination and the power of desire". However, Stephen Holden of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' felt that the film "never finds a visual vocabulary to match the elegance of its ideas". Richard von Busack of ''
Metro Silicon Valley ''Metro'' is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California, based Metro Newspapers. Also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', as well as ''Metroactive'' online, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley area. In addition to print ...
'' criticised some of the casting, finding
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón Aitana Sánchez-Gijón de Angelis (born 5 November 1968) is a Spanish-Italian film actress. Biography She was born in Rome on 5 November 1968, to a Spanish father , a history lecturer exiled from Francoism, and an Italian mother, Fiorella d ...
as Marie too obvious a temptress and never quite believing that
Romane Bohringer Romane Bohringer (; born 14 August 1973) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, and costume designer. She is the daughter of Richard Bohringer and sister of Lou Bohringer. Her parents named her after Roman Polanski. She won the Cé ...
as Zoe could have been unfaithful. However, he compared ''Chambermaid'' favourably to James Cameron's film ''Titanic'' saying ''The Chambermaid on the Titanic'' "is a smarter and far more elegant film" and that "it gets into the heart of the matter. The central question is not why did the great ship go down? but why do we love to tell stories about it?" Peter Keough of '' The Phoenix'' agreed saying, " hambermaid'streatment of the same themes of love, catastrophe, and the redeeming power of fantasy is a lot more subtle and satisfying." Jeff Vice of the ''
Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'' was unimpressed with the film feeling that the ending was "contrived" and that many of the cast seem "unsure of
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
motivations". He also felt that "the set pieces are bound to pale in comparison to those in ames Cameron's film''Titanic''."


Awards

*
Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Spanish ''Premio Goya al mejor guión adaptado'') is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards. For the first two editions of the Goya Awards, only one award for screenplays was pre ...
1997 * Goya Award for Costume Design 1997 *
Golden Pyramid The Golden Pyramid Award is the highest prize for best film in the international competition of the Cairo International Film Festival, hosted annually in Cairo, Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of ...
1997, Bigas Luna * Best Director 1997,
Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year si ...
, Bigas Luna * Spanish Film Writers Circle Award for Best Screenplay, adapted, 1997, Bigas Luna, Cuca Canals


References


External links

*
Review in ''Variety''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambermaid On The Titanic 1997 films French romantic drama films 1997 romantic drama films Films based on French novels Films about RMS Titanic Films set in 1912 Films set in France Films set in Hampshire Films directed by Bigas Luna Films scored by Alberto Iglesias 1990s French films 1990s Spanish films Italian romantic drama films Spanish romantic drama films 1990s Italian films