''The Women on the 6th Floor'' (french: link=no, Les Femmes du 6^e étage; also known as ''Service Entrance'') is a 2010 French film directed and part-written by Philippe Le Guay.
''Le Monde'', 15 February 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011. Principal roles are taken by

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Potiche'', ''The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. For his role in the 2015 film '' Courted'' he won t ...

, Sandrine Kiberlain,

Natalia Verbeke Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a 198 ...

and

Carmen Maura María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'', ''¡Ay Carmela!'', '' Common Wealth'', and ...

. Set in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1962, the story alternates between two different worlds. One is a traditional wealthy family in a comfortable apartment, whose lives are devoted to making money and meaningless socialising. The other is the underpaid and overworked domestic servants living in cramped conditions above them. As few French people want such work, the jobs are taken by Spanish women, eager to escape the poverty and oppression of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, who bring with them their native solidarity and human warmth.Van Hoej, Bra
The Women on the Sixth Floor -Les Femmes du 6e etage
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 15 February 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.

Plot

Jean-Louis Joubert is a stockbroker living with his wife Suzanne, who does not work, in a large apartment. The family's French maid leaves after a dispute, so Suzanne goes to a church where the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

finds jobs for Spanish immigrants. There she hires María, young and pretty, who speaks French and is the niece of Concepción, the maid for another family in the same building. The apartment is a mess after days without a maid and Concepción gets some of her Spanish friends to rally round and clean it up, to the surprise and delight of Suzanne. When Suzanne wants some furniture moved up to a little room on the 6th floor that they use for storage, Jean-Louis discovers that the other little rooms there, all unheated, are occupied by Spanish maids, including their María. There is only one cold water tap on the landing for them to wash themselves and one Turkish toilet that is forever getting blocked. He calls a plumber to fix the toilet and says that María can use their own bathroom. He also lets another maid come in to use their phone for an urgent call home. Though he has been struck by María since first seeing her, he becomes a friend to the other women too and starts learning about Spanish language, life and culture. His wife Suzanne begins to worry, not about the maids who are mostly not young or beautiful and in any case are only servants, but about a rich client of his called Bettina de Brossolettes who is a notorious maneater. When they have a cocktail party in their flat, she is furious on finding that Bettina is invited. During the party Jean-Louis catches a hired waiter trying to kiss María and, furious, sacks him on the spot. María, furious now that Jean-Louis has openly revealed his feelings for her, accuses him of being a lecher and treats him with contempt. Meanwhile Jean-Louis has found a new post for one of the Spanish women, who invites him and all the others to a

paella Paella (, , , , , ) is a rice dish originally from Valencia. While non-Spaniards commonly view it as Spain's national dish, Spaniards almost unanimously consider it to be a dish from the Valencian region. Valencians, in turn, regard ''paella'' ...

party. When María turns up, she is furious to find Jean-Louis there and enjoying himself. Arriving home late to a furious Suzanne, he is accused of having been with Bettina. He says that he was and agrees to move out. Taking over the storeroom on the 6th floor, he is not only close to María but becomes more closely involved in the lives of the other women on the floor. He goes to their church on Sundays, a new experience for him, and takes some of them in his car for a pilgrimage to

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...

. Concepción is now worried that María will again fall for a man who will not marry her and, to stop any affair between the two, tells María where in Spain the son of her previous relationship now is. María immediately tells Suzanne she is leaving to return to Spain and, going upstairs in an emotional state, lets Jean-Louis take her into his room and kiss her. She spends the night with him and next day disappears to Spain. He is very hurt, not only because she did not tell him but also because all the other women he thought his friends were silent too. Three years later, Jean-Louis drives to Spain looking for Concepción. When he tracks her down, she claims she does not know where María is. However her husband, who recognises what Jean-Louis is feeling, secretly tells him. When he drives there, he sees María hanging out her washing and the looks that the two exchange show their love for each other.

Cast

as Jean-Louis Joubert * Sandrine Kiberlain as Suzanne Joubert *

as María Gonzalez *

as Concepción Ramirez *

Lola Dueñas María Dolores Dueñas Navarro (born 6 October 1971) better known as Lola Dueñas is a Spanish actress. Born in Madrid, she is the daughter of Nicolás Dueñas and studied in the Teatro de La Abadía of Madrid. She decided to relocate to Par ...

as Carmen * Berta Ojea as Dolores Carbalan * Nuria Solé as Teresa * Concha Galán as Pilar * Audrey Fleurot as Bettina de Brossolette *

Marie-Armelle Deguy Marie-Armelle Deguy is a French actress, the daughter of poet and essayist Michel Deguy. Filmography Cinema *1988: ''La Septième dimension'' by Laurent Dussaux *1988: ''Zanzibar'' by Christine Pascal *1988: '' L'Enfance de l'art'' by F ...

as Colette de Bergeret * Muriel Solvay as Nicole de Grandcourt *

Philippe Duquesne Philippe Duquesne (born 30 June 1965) is a French actor. He is best known for playing in the cult TV series '' Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which he plays alongside Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian come ...

as Gérard * Annie Mercier as Madame Triboulet * Michèle Gleizer as Germaine Bronech * Camille Gigot as Bertrand Joubert * Jean-Charles Deval as Olivier Joubert * Christine Vézinet as Valentine * Jeupeu as Boulard * Vincent Nemeth as Monsieur Armand * Philippe du Janerand as Piquer * Patrick Bonnel as Golmard * Laurent Claret as Blamond * Jean-Claude Jay as Pelletier * Joan Massotkleiner as Fernando * Ivan Martin Salan as Miguel

Production

Two of the Spanish actresses, Berta Ojea and Concha Galán, did not speak French before the film and learned their roles phonetically.

Release

The film premièred at the Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film on 23 October 2010 and its cinematic run in France began on 16 February 2011. First shown in the USA in March 2011 at Rendezvous with French Cinema, it began its release there on 7 October 2011. The film was screened out of competition at the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in 2011.

Reception

It was well received by critics and audiences. ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' wrote "The entertainment is as good as the actors are pitch-perfect. Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Kiberlain are among our best stars." Dissenting, '' La Croix'' described the "lazy screenplay, poor dialogue, catalogue of clichés, poor quality mise en scène". The ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hent ...

'' reviewed the film at the Rendez-vous with French Film festival in New York, calling it "charming".

Awards

The movie was nominated in three categories at the César Award 2012 : Best costume design, Best production design and Best supporting actress. It won the Best supporting actress César - Carmen Maura.

Discography

The original soundtrack to ''Les Femmes du 6^e étage'' is included on the CD compilation ''Les Musiques de Jorge Arriagada pour les films de Philippe Le Guay'', released by Canadian label Disques Cinémusique in 2013. French and English liner notes.

References

External links

SND Films listing
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Women On The 6th Floor 2010 films 2010 comedy films French comedy films Films set in Paris Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress César Award-winning performance Films set in 1962 Films directed by Philippe Le Guay 2010s French films