The Women on the 6th Floor

Les femmes du 6ème étage
Director: Philippe Le Guay
Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Berta Ojea
Duration: 106 mins
Country of Origin: France

Mild sexual references, nudity and coarse language

“Clever, full of humour, substance & surprise. One of the GREAT, FEEL-GOOD FILMS OF THE SUMMER.”
Julie Rigg, ABC RADIO NATIONAL

“A CHEERY FILM TO WARM TO COCKLES. A very pleasant, reassuring tale about the positive side of human nature.”
Nick Dent, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

★★★★
“ENDEARING, sweet-natured & celebratory. These livewire señoras would bring out the best in anybody.”
Andiee Paviour, WHO WEEKLY

“DELICIOUS! A sensational cast… An uplifting story with plenty of chuckles and surprises; the women on the sixth floor are definitely ones you’ll want to meet.”
Louise Keller, THE SUN HERALD

A stellar cast serves up a delicious upstairs/downstairs comedy in Philippe Le Guay’s international sleeper hit.

It’s Paris, 1960. The marvellous Fabrice Luchini (Potiche) stars as wealthy stockbroker Jean-Louis Joubert, who lives a staid bourgeois existence with his perfectly-presented socialite wife (Sandrine Kiberlain). But when the family’s maid abandons them, into the residence comes Maria (Natalia Verbeke): young, hardworking, and – quelle horreur – Spanish!

Remarkably, it doesn’t take long for the building to become enchanted by the new arrival; Maria rallies the friendship of the other servants on the sixth floor (fabulous turns contributed by two of Almodóvar’s favourite señoritas, Carmen Maura and Lola Dueñas) and soon, the balance of the household ruptures into wild, cross-cultural chaos…

Directed with verve and charm by the talented Le Guay (The Cost Of Living), THE WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR is a warm-hearted delight, in any language. Luchini and Kiberlain are terrific as the austere couple brought to life and then – potentially – breaking point, when Jean-Louis literally discovers a room of his own. Still, the show arguably belongs to the lively ladies upstairs, including beautiful breakout star Verbeke.

After premiering at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival to a standing ovation, THE WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR became a massive hit at the French box office earlier this year and, fuelled by enthusiastic word of mouth, achieved over 2.3 million admissions.