Stream Now. There's a problem loading this menu at the moment. Melinda is Georges' and his late wife's daughter. Starring Sandrine Bonnaire, Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset. This is a contrast to the two young working-class women upstairs, whose relationship and the TV they watch is attuned to Sophie's simplistic mind. Select the department you want to search in. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 March 2018. Get your swag on with discounted movies to stream at home, exclusive movie gear, access to advanced screenings and discounts galore. The Criterion Collection called La Cérémonie "a must-see late-career triumph [...] [that] exemplifies the New Wave auteur’s mastery of suspense and twisted psychodrama. Sophie is treated rather nicely at the Lelièvres, who mean well towards her, but their patronizing attitude and the affection they have for each other create a feeling of jealousy and frustration both in Sophie and in Jeanne. Welcome to Judgment City: A Look Back at Defending Your Life, The West Wing Returns for an HBO Max Special, Touring Masterworks: Adam Nayman Discusses His New Book on Paul Thomas Anderson. A housemaid (Sandrine Bonnaire) befriends a mercurial postmistress (Isabelle Huppert). There is also a difference: Jeanne seems all-knowing, cocky, dominant. It is also about faces, two in particular. Catherine (Jacqueline Bisset) hires the illiterate Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) as her maid. Trailer send. Mr. Lelievre (Jean-Pierre Cassel) seems to agree with her, pointing out that the maid just has yet to learn how to serve dinner correctly. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2011, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2017. It comes as a surprise to all of them, and to us. Video availability outside of United Kingdom varies. At the end of the credits, the gunshots can be heard on the tape and then the voices of Jeanne and Sophie, constituting evidence against them. Jeanne senses a weakness in Sophie, a secret, and perhaps believes she can make the other young woman her instrument -- to do what, remains to be seen. She will never tell us. Professor Jeff Smith demonstrates how Claude Chabrol manages to play his audience like a piano, evoking suspense, isolation, and class conflict through an expertly tuned soundtrack. We begin to understand that regardless of whether either has committed murder, together they are certainly capable of it. Neither denies it. Gilles is Catherine's and her ex-husband's son. Collect bonus rewards from our many partners, including AMC, Stubs, Cinemark Connections, Regal Crown Club when you link accounts. She has her papers, her letter of reference, her salary requirement. It is what triggers the climax of the film, which sees Sophie and Jeanne seize Georges’ shotguns and murder the family who were watching an opera on television. The viewer finds out later that Sophie is illiterate and has a history of violence since she is believed to have killed her handicapped father, or at least not to have rescued him from the fire she might have set in his house. Directed by Lina Mannheimer. Although Claude Chabrol's "La Ceremonie" (1995) contains no guillotines, there is a relentless feeling to it, as if the characters are engaged in a performance that can have only one outcome. Once in the small village, Sophie meets Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), the postmistress, who occasionally works in a charity and reads a lot. At the end of their conversation, it's almost as if Sophie dismisses Catherine. A newly hired maid for a rich countryside family befriends a post-office clerk who encourages her to rebel against her employers. [6] On 17 April 2012, Roger Ebert added La Cérémonie to his list of "Great Movies". It comes as a surprise to all of them, and to us. The French have a name for the events leading up to a death by guillotine. She contrives opportunities for them to meet, She is hungry for gossip about the Lelievre family. However, Jeanne proves to be a bad influence on the maid since she is jealous and aggressive towards a lot of people, including the Lelièvres, whose mail she vandalises. I love Isabelle Huppert. movie theaters are playing La Cérémonie near you. Jeanne leaves the crime scene and is killed in a car accident by the priest who had fired her from the charity she worked for. Bonnaire's face can be equally concealing, but she is better at seeming vulnerable. [7], The Guardian included La Cérémonie at #16 in its "25 Best Crime Films of All Time". La Cérémonie is a 1995 crime drama film by Claude Chabrol, adapted from the 1977 novel A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell. Unexpected ending. With Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel. Fandango helps you go back to the movies with confidence and peace of mind. Sign in to see videos available to you. "Even a banal situation takes on importance when there's a murder involved. One day she accompanies Georges into the village, where she meets the postmistress, Jeanne. This frustration reaches its climax when Georges fires Sophie for attempting to blackmail Melinda, who found out about her illiteracy. Also in my Great Movies Collection: Chabrol's "Le Boucher.". "[5] The film is available on the Criterion Channel for streaming. Wherever you are. Tyler Posey realizes he's on his own in an exclusive clip from 'Alone,' now on FandangoNOW, What to Watch on FandangoNOW: ‘Unhinged,’ ‘The Opening Act,’ Miranda July’s ‘Kajillionaire’ and More, This Week in Family Movie News: ‘Thomas & Friends’ Coming Down the Track, First ‘Addams Family 2’ Teaser and More. The film consistently plants hints of a secret Sophie conceals -- a handicap I will not reveal -- that indicates that her ability to hold a job indicates she has a gift for deception. Genre: Once again he puts the privileged lives of a wealthy bourgeois family, the Lelievres, under the microscope, through the antagonism shown by an illiterate housekeeper (Sandrine Bonnnaire playing against type) and an embittered postmistress (Isabelle Huppert).They set up an unusual friendship which develops into a simmering antagonism towards the Lelievres and a growing violence. The "La Ceremonie" DVD is available via Netflix. Beautiful, interesting, incredible movies — a new film every single day. The household chores are excessive for Catherine – who owns her own art gallery – so she requires a maid's help and hires Sophie. They have tea. That's why I won't issue a spoiler warning: This isn't a who-done-it. Earn 125 points on every ticket you buy. I want the audience to know who the murderer is, so that we can consider his personality.". Everyone gets along at first. Jeanne's eyes narrow. Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for the upper-class family Lelievre, hides her illiteracy under the cloak of a perfect household and obedience. Catherine Robbe-Grillet, age 84, defies the relations between power and submission, sensuality and physical pain. Assuming that some must die (this is a film by Chabrol, after all), it is obvious who they must be. The 1001 Greatest Films, ranked as objectively as possible. An isolated house is no problem. The film, which is based on Ruth Rendell's novel: A Judgement in Stone (1977), is dominated by the two brilliant performances of Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Bonnaire whilst the remaining performances by the other actors are so effectively interpreted by the distinguished cast. They call it "the ceremony." with a very impressive cast. But Sophie soon falls under the influence of the mysterious postal worker Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), and the stage is set for a tale of murder, violence, and betrayal. Well, are they murderers? She can perform at any level. On the other hand, I'm not at all interested in who-done-its. Earlier in the film, Georges discovered alarming background details about both women. She has class-conscious scorn for their comfortable lifestyle. Chabrol, a founding member of the French New Wave who died in September 2010 having made 54 features, is sometimes said to be influenced by Hitchcock, perhaps because many of his characters become involved in murder but few of them make it a profession.