Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)

Celestine, the chambermaid, has new job on the country. The Monteils, who she works for are a group of strange people. The wife is frigid, her husband is always hunting (both animals and ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis Buñuel (as Luis Bunuel)

Writers:

Octave Mirbeau (based on the novel by), Luis Buñuel (adaptation) (as Luis Bunuel)

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Georges Géret, Michel Piccoli

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeanne Moreau	...	Céléstine
Georges Géret	...	Joseph
Daniel Ivernel	...	M Mauger
Françoise Lugagne	...	Mme Monteil
Muni	...	Marianne
Jean Ozenne	...	M Rabour
Michel Piccoli	...	M Monteil
Joëlle Bernard	...	(as Joelle Bernard)
Françoise Bertin
Jean-Claude Carrière	...	Le curé
Aline Bertrand	...	La voyageuse
Pierre Collet	...	Le voyageur
Michel Dacquin	...	(as Michel Dacquid)
Madeleine Damien	...	La cuisinière des Monteil
Marc Eyraud	...	Le secrétaire du commissaire

Storyline

Celestine, the chambermaid, has new job on the country. The Monteils, who she works for are a group of strange people. The wife is frigid, her husband is always hunting (both animals and women) and her father is a shoe-fetishist. Joseph, the farm-labourer is a fascist and sexually attracted to Celestine. Celestine settles herself and talks to the neighbour, an ex-officer, who likes damaging his neighbour's things. After the death of the old man, she quits her job, but because of the rape and murder of a child 'Little Claire' she decides to stay, believing that Joseph is the murderer. To get his confession she sleeps with him and promises to marry him. In spite of her engagement she fakes evidence to implicate him in the murder. He is arrested, but is released because the evidence is inconclusive. She marries the ex-officer and takes on a housewife role similar to that of Madame Monteil.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | rape | pedophilia | frigidity | child rape | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

9 March 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diary of a Chambermaid

Filming Locations:

Mennecy, Essonne, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,432, 15 October 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,754, 17 December 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ciné-Alliance,Filmsonor,Spéva Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The demonstrating fascists shout "Vive Chiappe", a homage to the chief of the Parisian police who prohibited showing director Luis Buñuel's earlier film L'Age d'Or (1930) after fascists destroyed the cinema where it was being shown.

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Goofs

Celestine tries to read a book that M. Rabour has open on his desk as she serves him coffee. The front shot shows the book close to the tray and his left hand on the book keeping his page open. The next shot, from Celestine's side, shows the book further away from the tray and it is being kept open by a a rubber stamp.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Céléstine: Are you from the priory?
Joseph: Yes.
Céléstine: Is it far?
Joseph: You'll see.

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Connections

Version of Celestine, Maid at Your Service (1974)

User Reviews

A brilliant performance from Jean Moreau is just one of many highlights in what could be Bunuel's most underrated movie.

Bunuel's 'Diary Of A Chambermaid' was released in between two of his surreal masterpieces 'The Exterminating Angel' and 'Simon Of The Desert'. It is, on the surface at least, a lot more conventional as either of those, maybe that's why it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. I don't know why it is rarely mentioned when people discuss the very best of Bunuel, but for me it's almost as great as 'Viridiana' and 'Belle De Jour'. The story was previously filmed by Renoir in the 1940s, but I haven't seen that version, so I can't say how different Bunuel's approach to the material is. As Bunuel claimed not to have seen it either I don't feel so bad. Jean Moreau, the beautiful star of Truffaut's 'Jules And Jim' and countless other Euro art film favourites, gives a brilliant performance as the enigmatic Celestine, maid to The Monteils, a very odd family living in pre-War France. Bunuel includes some of his usual comments about sexual deviance, and France's future under the Nazi occupation haunts the whole film, but what is most interesting to me about the picture is its subtlety and ambiguity. Like 'Belle De Jour' I think each repeated viewing will reveal more, and opinions on its meaning will depend on the individual viewer. Personally I'm still exploring Bunuel's extraordinary body of work. It is exciting doing so. I've probably only seen a third of his output so far, but I've yet to see a movie made by him that is less than fascinating. 'Diary Of A Chambermaid' just might be his most underrated film. I highly recommend it.