La Cérémonie

"France's Alfred Hitchcock Returns..."

1995 1h 52m FR

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 417🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes★7.5IMDB · 15,050

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for an upper-class French family, finds a friend in the energetic and uncompromising postmaster Jeanne, who encourages her to stand up against her bourgeois employers.

“France's Alfred Hitchcock Returns...”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Sandrine Bonnaire
Sophie Bonhomme
Isabelle Huppert
Jeanne
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Georges Lelièvre
Jacqueline Bisset
Catherine Lelièvre
Virginie Ledoyen
Melinda
Valentin Merlet
Gilles
Julien Rochefort
Jeremie
Dominique Frot
Madame Lantier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Claude Chabrol
Writers: Claude Chabrol, Caroline Eliacheff
Languages: French
Countries: France, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Claude Chabrol, shot by Bernard Zitzermann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Matthieu Chabrol. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Monique Fardoulis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Pierre Cassel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "France's Alfred Hitchcock Returns...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0112769 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Claude Chabrol directs. Bernard Zitzermann behind the camera. Matthieu Chabrol scores. Monique Fardoulis cuts. Produced in France, Germany. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: France, Germany.
3Directed by Claude Chabrol, shot by Bernard Zitzermann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Matthieu Chabrol. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Monique Fardoulis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Pierre Cassel carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "France's Alfred Hitchcock Returns...".
8IMDB entry: tt0112769 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "class society", "france", "illiteracy", "country life".
10Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bernard Zitzermann
Original score: Matthieu Chabrol
Editing: Monique Fardoulis
Production design: Daniel Mercier
Costume design: Corinne Jorry
Makeup / hair: Cédric Chami
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $10,882,920
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: La Cérémonie (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 15,050 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

9 wins & 11 nominations total

Lumière Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Claude Chabrol

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2022-07-29
★ 7/10
This movie is the French version of "Thelma & Louise". Okay, it's different from that classic, but oh so much fun to watch. Reverse-spoiler alert: the ending is very different.

Production companies