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Storyline
Gervaise Macquart, a young lame laundress, is left by her lover Auguste Lantier with two boys... She manages to make it, and a few years later she marries Coupeau, a roofer. After working very hard a few more years, she succeeds in buying her own laundry (her dream)... But Coupeau starts to drink after having fallen from a roof, and Lantier shows up... A faithful adaptation of Emile Zola's novel "L'Assomoir", depicting the fatal degeneration of a family of workers, mainly because of alcohol. Written by
Yepok
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
A Most Unusual Love Story in a Most Unusual Motion Picture!
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Quotes
Gervaise Macquart Coupeau, une blanchisseuse douce et courageuse:
Morning came and he still hadn't returned. He'd been out all night. It was the first time. I was so proud to have the handsomest guy around, me, the gimp.
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Connections
Version of
Drink (1902)
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Soundtracks
"Laissez-moi dormir"
Music by
Georges Auric
Lyrics by
Raymond Queneau
Performed by Maria Lopez
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This is a beautifully made, but terribly sad film, based on one of Emile Zola's most depressing stories of French life in the 1800s.
Gervaise is a poor woman with a poorer choice of men. She is loving, smart, and industrious, but falls for superficial, lazy drunks who take advantage of her. While she tries to provide for her family by following her dream of owning her own shop, her husband drinks away the profits and complicates her life by inviting her former lover to live in their house.
I can't say enough good things about Maria Schell's glowing performance as a tragic heroine. Her beautiful, expressive face is impossible to forget, and her emotional range is impressive. The rest of the cast is also pitch-perfect, from her various neighbors and clients, down to the lovely little girl who plays daughter Nana with touching sadness.
Surgeon general's warning: don't watch this film while under the influence of alcohol or mood- depressing drugs. It might push you over your limit.