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After spending hours upon hours in the dark at film festivals, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about foreign language films. I’ve learned that Norwegians have a quirky sense of humor. I’ve learned that Eastern European filmmakers tend to be very, very serious. And I’ve learned that the French make surprisingly delightful light comedies—like 8 Women director François Ozon’s trophy wife comedy, Potiche.
For 30 years, Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) has played the devoted wife and mother, lovingly raising her two children and writing fluffy poetry while her philandering husband, Robert (Fabrice Luchini), ruled her father’s umbrella factory with an iron fist.
In the spring of 1977, Robert’s decisions lead the factory’s workers to strike—and his eagerness to throw a punch leads to his being taken hostage. So Suzanne turns to a former lover, Maurice Babin (Gérard Depardieu), for help. Though he’s bitter about the way their affair ended, he still cares about Suzanne, so he pulls some strings to get Robert released.
After the ordeal, Robert is in no condition to work—so, although she’s well aware that she’s nothing more than a flighty, pampered housewife (or potiche), Suzanne reluctantly agrees to fill in. She hires her children as trusted associates and quickly wins over the workers, turning the factory into a better place to work. But it’s only a matter of time before Robert returns.
From its charming cast to its colorful 1970s styling, almost everything about Potiche is light and breezy and fun. The production design is wonderfully whimsical, with vibrant sets and period-appropriate fashions that make the film feel like a classic ‘70s sitcom. And while Ozon uses that retro style to give the film an easy-going, playful tone, he doesn’t overdo it. He doesn’t over-exaggerate the styles or the characters’ behavior or turn the whole thing into a wacky, slapstick adventure. Instead, the rest of the film is more subdued—from the subtle humor to the characters’ personalities.
On the surface, Potiche is just another silly comedy, but there’s more to the characters than the usual sitcom clichés. Suzanne turns out to be anything but the quiet, subservient housewife. She’s actually a fascinatingly complex character—one who’s full of surprises—and Deneuve plays her perfectly. The others, too, are fun to watch—like Suzanne’s pacifist son, Laurent (Jérémie Renier), whose new role in the company helps him find direction in life, or Robert’s calculating assistant/mistress, Nadège (Karin Viard), who struggles with her loyalties to her two bosses.
Some of the other characters, however, are a little harder to grasp—especially Suzanne’s daughter, Joelle (Judith Godrèche), a Farrah-Fawcett-feathered potiche-in-training who can’t seem to decide what she stands for (though, whatever it is, she’s intensely outspoken about it).
Potiche isn’t an outrageous comedy—and, for that reason, you might miss some of the humor while you’re busy reading the subtitles. But the playful style and subtle wit—along with solid performances by two legendary stars—make it a lovably fluffy foreign film.
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