The Chambermaid on the Titanic
Seen it?1997 | 100 min | Romance, Drama
Sunday Safe Betearly ratingWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
It earned strong reviews (81% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had a box office flop and little lasting buzz. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for fans of giant monsters and bigger battles and anyone in the mood for a love story. The scale is huge: humanity is very much the underdog. Sits nicely alongside Titanic.
- The mood
- Warm and romantic.
- The pace
- Quiet, then quietly devastating, at 1 hr 40 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in French, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Skip it if romance makes you roll your eyes.
Horty, a French foundry worker, wins a contest and is sent to see the sailing of the Titanic. In England, Marie, saying she is a chambermaid on the Titanic and cannot get a room, asks to share his room. They do, chastely; when he awakens, she is gone, but he sees her at the sailing and gets a photo of her. When he returns home, he suspects that his wife Zoe has been sleeping with Simeon, the foundry owner. Horty goes to the bar, where his friends get him drunk and he starts telling an erotic fantasy of what happened with him and Marie, drawing a larger audience each night.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsStrong
81% on Rotten Tomatoes
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerWeak
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 12K people sought it out in the past year, and interest is climbing
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Cast & crew
Directed by Bigas Luna
- Olivier MartinezHorty
- Aitana Sánchez-GijónMarie
- Romane BohringerZoe
- Didier BezaceSimeon
- Aldo MaccioneZeppe, Actor
- Jean-Marie JuanPascal
- Arno ChevrierAl
- Marianne GrovesMathilde
- Didier BénureauSimeon's Secretary
- Alberto CassadieGiovanni