esrosedotblog

RICH AND POOR

Today's movie was LA CEREMONIE (1996); another of Claude Chabrol's dissections of class structure and dynamics.

In this case, rich liberals hire a young woman as a maid (even though it makes them nervous to call her that) who has a history and a secret and, eventually, a carefully nurtured set of resentments which are stoked by a new friend in the village (a wonderfully fucked up Isabelle Huppert). The friend also has a history. Let's say that everyone's history catches up with them; the family of four and the two young women. It is a tight, economic, absorbing film; a thriller.

Chabrol has done some great films and, while I cannot compare them all with this, I can say that this one is very fine. He started in the new wave and now has done some forty films of all genrés.

There is not a lot to say about this that won't amount to being a spoiler. So I will just give it a 4 out of Netflix5 and quit talking about something that is better seen than heard about.