| The Chambermaid on the Titanic | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Bigas Luna |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Based on | La Femme de chambre du Titanic by Didier Decoin |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alberto Iglesias |
| Editing by | Kenout Peltier |
| Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Company |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | France Spain Italy |
| Language | French |
The Chambermaid on the Titanic (French: La Femme de chambre du Titanic) is a 1997 French drama film directed by Bigas Luna, starring Oliver Martinez, Romane Bohringer and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon. It is based on the novel La Femme de chambre du Titanic by Didier Decoin.[1] 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[2] to avoid the impression that it was trying to cash in on the success of James Cameron's popular film, Titanic, which was released the year before The Chambermaid on the Titanic made its US debut.[3]
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Set in 1912, the protagonist, Horty, lives an uneventful life as a foundry worker in the north of France. His wife, Zoe, is the most beautiful woman in the town and the owner of the foundry where Horty works, Simeon, lusts after her. One day, Horty wins a company athletic contest and is given by Simeon, as a prize, a ticket to Southampton to see the sailing of the Titanic.
The night before the Titanic departs, he meets a beautiful young woman named Marie. Marie explains that she is a chambermaid aboard the Titanic but has nowhere to sleep because all of the local hotels are full. Horty allows her to sleep in his bed whilst he sleeps 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. When Horty returns home he finds he has been promoted but that rumors are circulating about an affair between Zoe and Simeon. Horty goes to a local bar to drown his sorrows. He tells an erotic fantasy about his night with Marie to his friends and co-workers at a local bar, earning him free drinks and tips.
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 and 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 demands a part in the performance, playing the role of Marie poignantly fighting against the waves after the Titanic sinks. The film ends by revealing why Marie would sleep with Horty.
The Chambermaid on the Titanic received an 81% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.[4] Mick LaSelle of the San Francisco Chronicle 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."[3] Bill Gallo of the Dallas Observer called it "beautiful, complex [and] occasionally overwrought" and "a rich meditation on the uses of imagination and the power of desire".[5] However, Stephen Holden of the New York Times felt that the film "never finds a visual vocabulary to match the elegance of its ideas".[1] Richard von Busack of Metro Silicon Valley criticised some of the casting, finding Aitana Sanchez-Gijon as Marie too obvious a temptress and never quite believing that Romane Bohringer 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?"[6] Peter Keough of The Phoenix agreed saying, "[Chambermaid's] treatment of the same themes of love, catastrophe, and the redeeming power of fantasy is a lot more subtle and satisfying."[2] Jeff Vice of the Deseret News was unimpressed with the film feeling that the ending was "contrived" and that many of the cast seem "unsure of [their] motivations". He also felt that "the set pieces are bound to pale in comparison to those in [James Cameron's film] Titanic."[7]