Diary of a Chambermaid
Directed by Luís Buñuel
Written by Luís Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carriere from a novel by Octave Mirbeau
1964/France/Italy
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Céléstine: It’s strange, how the country always seems sad. — I guess, people don’t have much fun here.[/box]
I was underwhelmed by Luis Buñuel’s remake of Jean Renoir 1946 film of the same name.
Parisienne chambermaid Celestine (Jeanne Moreau) finds work in the country with a most unorthodox family. Grandpa is a foot fetishist, husband is a womanizer, and wife is a prude. Completing the picture is a mischief-making next door neighbor and a fascist groundskeeper.
Celestine quickly has all the me wrapped around her little finger. Things liven up even more when she begins to play detective in the murder case of a little girl.
This is thoroughly Bunuelean but I found it less quirky and amusing than his better films. I had seen it before and remembered very little about it. This rewatching looks like it is headed for the same fate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4bpoLEJrlQ
