How to Be a Good Wife

2020 1h 48m FR

😐

5.7

MID

★5.7TMDB · 261

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Paulette Van Der Beck and her husband have been running the housekeeping school of Bitche in Alsace for many years. Their mission is to train teenage girls to become the perfect housewives at a time when women were expected to be subservient to their husband. After the sudden death of her husband, Paulette discovers that the school is on the verge of bankruptcy and has to take her responsibilities. But while preparations are underway for the best housekeeping competition TV show, she and her lively students start questioning their beliefs as the nation-wide protests of May 1968 transform society around them. Reunited with her first love, André, and with the help of her eccentric stepsister Gilberte and strict nun Marie-Therese, Paulette joins forces with the schoolgirls to overcome their suppressed status and become liberated women.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Juliette Binoche
Paulette Van Der Beck
Yolande Moreau
Gilberte Van der Beck
Noémie Lvovsky
Marie-Therese
Édouard Baer
André Grunvald
François Berléand
Robert Van der Beck
Marie Zabukovec
Annie Fuchs
Anamaria Vartolomei
Albane Des-deux-Ponts
Lily Taïeb
Yvette Ziegler

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Provost
Writers: Martin Provost, Séverine Werba
Languages: French
Countries: France

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 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Provost, shot by Guillaume Schiffman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Juliette Binoche and Yolande Moreau and Noémie Lvovsky carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt10441958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Provost directs. Guillaume Schiffman behind the camera. Grégoire Hetzel scores. Albertine Lastera cuts. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2Directed by Martin Provost, shot by Guillaume Schiffman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Grégoire Hetzel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Albertine Lastera shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Juliette Binoche and Yolande Moreau and Noémie Lvovsky carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt10441958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Classified under 15 themes, including "france", "change", "1970s", "feminism".