La Cérémonie (1995)
Genre: Drama / Crime
Duration: 111 minuten
Alternative title: A Judgement in Stone
Country:
France / Germany
Directed by: Claude Chabrol
Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire and Jean-Pierre Cassel
IMDb score:
7,5 (15.521)
Releasedate: 30 August 1995
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
La Cérémonie plot
Sophie (Bonnaire) is the housekeeper of a typical French bourgeoisie family. We soon discover that she cannot read, which of course she keeps scrupulously hidden. When she befriends the postman Jeanne (Huppert), she begins to turn away from the family more and more.
Actors and actresses
Jeanne
Sophie Bonhomme
Georges Lelièvre
Catherine Lelièvre
Melinda
Gilles
Jeremie
Madame Lantier
Priest
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
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- 3230 messages
- 8327 votes
Curiously enough, Ruth Rendell's best adaptation is in French. It is suspenseful, but not mysterious, a crime story from the perpetrators' point of view. The Chekhov principle is respected: if a loaded gun is involved, it must be fired at some point.
It revolves mainly around the characters and their social relationships. Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) is the type who bottles up her anger and is ashamed of her problems. Her tragedy is that she makes things difficult for herself due to her inability to stand up for herself. If she had simply admitted that she was illiterate, she could have saved herself a lot of trouble. Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert) is the type who seeks out conflict and knows no shame whatsoever.
Chabrol's comparison to Marxism holds water. It concerns two members of a lower social class who feel exploited by the upper class. During the Russian Revolution, the rebels executed Tsar Nicholas II along with his wife and his likeable-looking children. Daughter Melinda (Virginie Ledoyen) suffers the same fate; she is punished for her honesty. In doing so, the rebels do the same as their oppressors: judge people by their origins.
The strengths of this quietly built-up tragedy are the frustrations and maladjustment of the main character, the good acting, and the clever denouement.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Baboesjka
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- 891 messages
- 2071 votes
Impressive film. The story captivated me from beginning to end. Very good acting, Sophie and Jeanne intrigued me, and I find Melinda (Virginie Ledoyen) stunning. The film is built up nicely and calmly, and I find the ending strong, just like the rest of the film. A 9. 4.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
El Loco
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- 1393 messages
- 2616 votes
La Cérémonie seemed to me to have the potential to become an interesting film due to the presence of Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert. Two actresses I have already seen do very good things, and here too they deliver very strong performances.
Sandrine Bonnaire managed to touch me several times during the moments when her illiteracy got her into trouble. Nevertheless, the family she worked for certainly seemed understanding of her situation, but her shame about it is also understandable.
From the moment she befriends Jeanne, she allows herself to be completely manipulated by her and begins to turn against the family. The gruesome ending therefore hit very hard (although the hunting rifle should have been kept out of frame to create a greater shock effect). The family certainly did not deserve this and came across as reasonably sympathetic despite their bourgeois traits. That is why the ending left me with a very chilling feeling.
This is the second film I've seen by Chabrol after a solid Le Boucher, but this is on an even slightly higher level. Bonnaire and Huppert also confirm the quality of what I have already seen from the two ladies.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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