The Women on the 6th Floor (2010)
"Les femmes du 6ème étage" (original title)

In 1960s Paris, a conservative couple's lives are turned upside down by two Spanish maids.

Director:

Philippe Le Guay

Writers:

Philippe Le Guay, Jérôme Tonnerre

Stars:

Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabrice Luchini	...	Jean-Louis Joubert
Sandrine Kiberlain	...	Suzanne Joubert
Natalia Verbeke	...	María Gonzalez
Carmen Maura	...	Concepción Ramirez
Lola Dueñas	...	Carmen
Berta Ojea	...	Dolores Carbalan
Nuria Solé	...	Teresa
Concha Galán	...	Pilar
Marie-Armelle Deguy	...	Colette de Bergeret
Muriel Solvay	...	Nicole de Grandcourt
Audrey Fleurot	...	Bettina de Brossolette
Annie Mercier	...	Mme Triboulet
Michèle Gleizer	...	Germaine Bronech - la vieille bonne bretonne
Camille Gigot	...	Bertrand Joubert
Jean-Charles Deval	...	Olivier Joubert

Storyline

Paris, in the early 1960s. Jean-Louis Joubert is a serious but uptight stockbroker, married to Suzanne, a starchy class-conscious woman and father of two arrogant teenage boys, currently in a boarding school. The affluent man lives a steady yet boring life. At least until, due to fortuitous circumstances, Maria, the charming new maid at the service of Jean-Louis' family, makes him discover the servants' quarter on the sixth floor of the luxury building he owns and lives in. There live a crowd of lively Spanish maids who will help Jean-Louis to open to a new civilization and a new approach of life. In their company - and more precisely in the company of beautiful Maria - Jean-Louis will gradually become another man, a better man.

---

Plot Keywords:

1960s | caretaker | plumber | toilet | spain | 

---

Taglines:

Help is on the way.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

7 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Women on the 6th Floor

Filming Locations:

Chinchón, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$26,636 (USA) (7 October 2011)

Gross:

$719,601 (USA) (22 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vendôme Production, France 2 Cinéma, SND

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Philippe Le Guay took inspiration from his own childhood. His father was a stockbroker like Jean-Louis Joubert in the film and he himself had a Spanish maid.

---

Goofs

In the street, most (if not all) men wear hats, caps or Basque berets. In France, most men stopped wearing headgear in the 1950s (in cities at least). By 1960, the vast majority of men were hatless.

---

Connections

Featured in CineMaverick TV: Episode #1.13 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

"Itsy Bitsy Petit Bikini"
Performed by Dalida

User Reviews

Almost Great

The nice thing about "The Women on the 6th Floor" is that it stops itself just short of being an important film with a big statement. I can't help but think of it as a lighter cousin to "The Help"; while "The Help" shoved its self-righteous social consciousness right into the viewer's face, this French comedy chooses to remain a silly romantic comedy and keep the social commentary as subtext. The wealthy protagonist isn't out to change world orders, and he really isn't all that progressive (like Emma Stone's character in The Help), he just wants to get into the Spanish maid's pants. That means the movie got a lot less attention (and would have even if we eliminated the element of Americans' strange refusal to read subtitles) but it's a lot more entertaining, a lot less irritating, and not any more shallow as far as social commentary goes.

It isn't quite a great film. It's very naive, very unrealistic, and French cinema buffs may point out that it's a throwback to films made over half a century ago. The Spanish characters are extremely stereotypical, and the romance makes less and less sense as the film goes on, most jarringly in the incredibly silly, entirely unconvincing, saccharine ending, which almost ruined the whole thing for me. Nevertheless, it's funny and enjoyable throughout, Fabrice Luchini is superb in the lead, and all the supporting characters (even the stereotypical maids) are wonderfully crafted. And interestingly, it's the ignoble motivation of the protagonist that makes him much more compelling than Emma Stone in "The Help"; as unrealistic as the story is, the character is quite real, and makes for a delightful comedic protagonist, which in turns leads to a delightful little movie.