Barnes & Noble

Eight of France's finest actresses sing and dance their way through a drawing-room murder mystery in 8 Women, a candy-coated genre mishmash from director François Ozon. The titular females form the film's backbone -- an astounding cast including Catherine Deneuve, Virginie Ledoyen, Ludivine Sagnier, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, Isabelle Huppert, Danielle Darrieux, and Fermine Richard. Based on a 1960s Agatha Christie-inspired play, the story itself is set at a French country estate where the man of the house (Dominique Lamure) is murdered. The eight women --all relatives or servants -- proceed to exchange accusations and secrets as to the murderer's identity during one snowbound night. But whodunit is hardly the point here: 8 Women is a superbly stylized film that cloaks a mystery parody in the Technicolor vibrancy of a Douglas Sirk melodrama or a Vincente Minnelli musical. It's all punctuated with charming solo numbers that run the gamut from bouncy French pop to heartfelt ballads, serving as splendid, often tongue-in-cheek showpieces for each actress's unique charisma. In the face of this improbable confluence of styles, Ozon maintains a carefully considered tone, and the performances remain focused, powerful, and true. Ultimately, 8 Women is a complex mixture of genres and personalities, but its strong flavors blend into a surprisingly smooth confection. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

A gaggle of mothers, wives, daughters, maids, and mistresses gather for a holiday homecoming at their country mansion -- and end up having to solve a murder-mystery -- in this musical-comic homage to studio-era "women's pictures" from acclaimed French director François Ozon. Partly inspired by George Cukor's 1939 classic The Women, 8 Femmes stars Catherine Deneuve as Gaby, a high-society matron just returned to her country house to celebrate Christmas with her husband; mother Mamy (Danielle Darrieux); sister Augustine (Isabelle Huppert); and daughters Suzon (Virginie Ledoyen) and Catharine (Ludivine Sagnier). Not long after they all arrive, however, do they find the man of the house with a knife in his back, whereupon everyone becomes a suspect -- including maids Chanel (Firmine Richard) and Louise (Emmanuelle Béart). The mysterious arrival of Augustine's sister-in-law Pierrette (Fanny Ardant) only complicates matters, as the titular eight women find themselves snowed in by a fierce blizzard, forced to confront the matter of the lifeless husband -- and their long-standing secrets and resentments -- without the aid of the police. Following its immensely successful release in France in early 2002, 8 Women enjoyed much acclaim at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals. Michael Hastings

Product Details

• UPC: 025192273827
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: Français
• Subtitles: Español, English
• Time: 1:51:00
• Sales Rank: 15,024

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