Not to be confused with the recently released The Woman In The Fifth starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas, director Philippe Le Quay’s amiable culture-clash comedy unfolds in early ’60s Paris.
The women in question are the Spanish servants who turn middle-aged stockbroker Jean-Louis’ ( Potiche ’s wonderful Fabrice Luchini) orderly existence upside down, much to the dismay of his socialite wife Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain).
True, it’s no great shocker that these vibrant, paella-eating senoras are soon teaching their stuffy French master how to live life to the full, but the ensemble performances bring charm and vitality to an otherwise overly cosy set-up.
