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Diary of a Chambermaid

Play trailer Poster for Diary of a Chambermaid Released Mar 4, 1964 1h 37m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Celestine (Jeanne Moreau) has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil (Michel Piccoli), his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph (Georges Geret), is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.
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Diary of a Chambermaid

Critics Reviews

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Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) Less fantastical than much of Luis Bunuel's work, this 1964 adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's novel demonstrates that realism and surrealism aren't the polar opposites some might think. Nov 9, 2018 Full Review Eugene Archer New York Times Sadly, the intervening decades seem to have weakened Mr. Bunuel's powers. His new adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's Diary of a Chambermaid suffers in comparison with the strange but memorable version Jean Renoir did with Paulette Goddard in 1946. Rated: 2/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Ed Gonzalez Slant Magazine The Diary of a Chambermaid was a crucial turning point in Luis Buuel's career because it would officially usher in the French period of the director's later years. Rated: 4/4 Sep 8, 2003 Full Review Shelley Burton Los Angeles Free Press Impressive in the film is the graceful, mature manner in which the characters subtly reveal the dramatics of the story. Feb 4, 2020 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm ...just when it seems to settle in as a black comedy, the movie turns grisly. Rated: 3/4 Jan 20, 2017 Full Review Donald J. Levit ReelTalk Movie Reviews Second-tier compared to Buuel's masterworks, this film is worth seeing because it is his. Apr 3, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (118) audience reviews
Massoud H This is hands down one of the best films ever made. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/30/22 Full Review william d A well acted but only semi-interesting story that fails to deliver at the end. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It does have some interesting things to say about the relationship between extreme political identity, class, and violence. That said, I think Buñuel addresses these ideas much better in his more surreal and overtly satirical movies. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member I agree that this wasn't one of his best, still though it is very Bunuel, with his comment on the bourgeoisie spot on. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Superb. One of the best movies of all time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member A woman joins a household where she is constantly sexualy harrased and then she seduces a sadistic man she thinks raped and murdered a little girl and plants evidence to get him jailed. Then she marries a goof, who throws stones and garbage all day long into his neighbour's yard. I have no idea what I just saw. All the motives and actions of the characters are left completely unexplained. The chambermaid's reaction to being constantly sexually harrassed is completely illogical. There are just too many holes in the movie for the audience to fill with their imagination. Maybe they should have cut something out or made it longer. And the movie is only very loosely based on the book, so that offewrs no help in understanding what this movie was about. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Diary of a Chambermaid

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Movie Info

Synopsis Celestine (Jeanne Moreau) has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil (Michel Piccoli), his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph (Georges Geret), is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.
Director
Luis Buñuel
Producer
Michel Safra, Serge Silberman
Screenwriter
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Production Co
Filmsonor
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 4, 1964, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Sep 21, 1964
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$19.5K
Runtime
1h 37m
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