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Cast: Carmen Maura, Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain
Paris, 1960. Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini, Potiche, The Girl From Monaco) lives a bourgeois existence with his neurotic socialite wife Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain, Mademoiselle Chambon) while their children are away at boarding school. The couple’s world is turned upside-down when they hire María, a Spanish maid who introduces Jean-Louis to an alternative reality a few stories up on the sixth floor servants' quarters. Befriending a group of sassy Spanish maids (including Pedro Almódovar’s star Carmen Maura, Volver, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), the women teach him there’s more to life than stocks and bonds, and their influence on the house ultimately transforms everyone’s life.
Philippe Le Guay and Fabrice Luchini, two filmmakers that are known for making good quality comedies. I highly recommend checking out their previous films, "L'année Juliette" (1995) and "Le coût de la vie" (2003). The cast here are nothing short of amazing and the film is not very funny but it also opens up your heart and mind and just leaves you feeling good long after it's over. Not only one of the best foreign comedies I have seen but one of the best in general, this is an intelligent film that doesn't need to be offensive to be funny.
In "6th Floor" the Spanish maids put up with the demands from the upper class, working long hours put you sense they are happy to be making a living so the can fulfill their dreams some day.
It's never in doubt they miss their homeland, but these women know how to party and have a passion for life. A young maid, Maria shows up, to alter the lives of the owner of the building where these women live. After a few days, living conditions change for the better, as the owner discovers there is more to life than investing money.
To talk about the plot too much would only ruin this delightful and touching film. There's a lot to like here, these are real people dealing with real issues in their lives while still finding the time to enjoy it to it's fullest. By the time the film was over I was left with a smile on my face I haven't had while watching a film in a long time. It's not a film that's going to change your life but it doesn't pretend to be one, instead it will have you thinking about what's important in your own life, I was highly entertained the entire time so I highly recommend this to everyone.
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Strand Releasing
***** Out Of *****