I have always loved the experience of going to the movies — from buying the tickets, to contemplating the least hydrogenated foods at the concession stand, I feel like a real film-goer when I allow myself the little luxury of spending $13 on a New York movie ticket.
Whenever my father’s parents were burdened with watching all ten grandchildren, “going to the show,” as they would call it (and still do), was an easy way to keep us all quietly occupied for two hours.
On my short trek home from the office, I pass a small, non-Blockbuster theater called City Cinemas 1, 2, 3. Located on 3rd Ave. between 59th and 60th streets, City Cinemas always has at least one film that I’ve been desperate to see, and so I often delight in an after-work movie. Most recently, my dear friend Evan and I decided to see the 2011 French film, The Women on the 6th Floor.
Starring Fabrice Luchini, the film was about a wealthy, conservative Parisian couple whose lives change when they make the decision to employ a Spanish maid from the sixth floor of their Paris apartment building. Set in the early 60s, the film captures Paris in a whimsical era. When Luchini’s character discovers the sixth floor quarters where the Spanish maids all live, he becomes fascinated and entranced by their happy way of life, versus his boring, albeit luxurious life as a stale stockbroker.
The film takes its audience on a trip of full of laughter, romance, and lighthearted fun, bouncing back and forth between French and Spanish (thankfully with subtitles).
I highly recommend this film for anyone looking for a feel-good comedy.
Related articles
- ‘The Women on the 6th Floor’ review: Rich insight (sfgate.com)
- Movie Review | ‘The Women on the 6th Floor’: ‘The Women on the 6th Floor,’ French Comedy – Review (movies.nytimes.com)
- The Women on the 6th Floor: L’amour with class condescension (theglobeandmail.com)