Murderous Maids (2000)

The Definitive Papin Film

"Murderous Maids" is the second film I've seen about France's Papin sisters, two domestics who, in the early 1930's, savagely murdered their employer and her daughter. Slightly superior to "Sister, My Sister", Britain's Papin film, "Murderous Maids", based on the book "L'affaire Papin", not only possesses a greater degree of psychological sophistication, but is more historically accurate. That being said, "Murderous Maids" (or, more correctly, "Les Blessures Assassines") more or less winds up being a showcase for the sublime performance given by Sylvie Testud, who, despite no physical resemblance, brings us as close as I believe is humanly possible to touching the strange entity that was Christine Papin--and it's about as close as most people would want to get. Julie-Marie Parmentier as co-star is dutifully overshadowed, much as her character Lea lived in the shadow of her older sister Christine in actual life. Their love scenes are both sweet and sexy, which makes for an intriguing juxtaposition to the off-putting gruesomeness of the murders. While these women (particularly Christine) felt victimized by their lowly social status, their chaotic family romance (manipulative, self-absorbed mother; absent father) played a parallel role in determining their (and their employer's) unfortunate fate. June 24, 2007

I don't ever want to see this movie again!

As one reviewer said below, this is one movie you only need to see once...and once is enough! I don't know why I was able to stomach "Sister My Sister"--another movie based on the same events--and not this one. June 8, 2007

A Profoundly Moving, Gripping Tale of Class Unrest and the Impact of Social Marginalization

Murderous Maids
MURDEROUS MAIDS (LES BLESSURES ASSASSINES) is a tremendously powerful look at the complexities and subtleties underlying the 1933 murders committed in Le Mans, France by the Papin sisters. Though the film has all the ingredients that could easily have made it an exploitative potboiler (incest, lesbianism, murder), it is anything but that!! INSTEAD, it is a film that studies in quiet detail a relationship between two sisters marginalized by society because they are merely maids and how their repressed "selves" explode when they reach their breaking points. In terms of the social context of the characters, these women are voiceless and repressed outside the confines of their meager quarters in the attic of their employer. The bond that they develop is as much out of revolt against society as it is out of profound desire and genuine love for one another. In the hands of a less astute director, the film would have failed. But, in the hands of director Jean-Pierre Denis, it triumphs boldly. The true burning center of the film is actress Sylvie Testud. Her performance as the elder sister whose alliance with her younger sister turns into a case of amour fou, is positively riveting. She is by turns taciturn and passionate, fiercely intelligent and wildly insane, profoundly sad and deeply in love. There were times while watching her on screen when I truly forgot that I was watching a performance. I honestly believed she was this woman she was playing. This has only happened to me one or two times in my film-watching life, and it stunned me this time more than ever before. Though the crime these women are guilty of is horrific and the relationship they develop is problematic, their story is totally compelling and the film is extraordinary.
May 2, 2007

HYPNOTIC...DEPRESSING...SHOCKING...

This film tells the tawdry story of the notorious Papin sisters, and it is quite a story. In early 1933, a crime of dreadful and shocking brutality stunned the nation of France, and its citizens watched in horror as the facts unfolded. The Papin sisters, Christine and Lea, stood accused of savagely murdering their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, Genevieve, in the household where they worked as maids.

In late 1933, the trial resulted in the elder sister, Christine, being convicted of both murders and sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to that of life in prison. She would die four years later in an asylum for the criminally insane. Her younger sister, Lea, was also convicted, but only of the murder of Madame Lancelin, and was sentenced to serve ten years of hard labor. She served eight years of her ten year sentence and was then released, living to a ripe old age.

In the film, the viewer sees that the sisters came from a totally dysfunctional household. Their mother, the selfish and unloving Clemence (Isabel Renauld), kicked her alcoholic husband out the household, when she discovered that he had been molesting their oldest daughter, Emilie. She then placed their three daughters in a Catholic orphanage run by nuns. Clemence, relieved of the day-to-day responsibility of her daughters, would see them on occasion.

Emilie eventually decided to become a nun. When Christine later expressed an interest in following in Emilie's footsteps, her mother quashed that notion. Instead, as Christine (Sylvie Testud) grew older, Clemence looked to her as a source of income, hiring her out to work as a maid. The viewer sees the deadening effect of her servitude, as her employers treat Christine as a virtual nonentity. Initially, Christine tested the patience of some of her earlier employers to whom she was, at times, slyly insolent. Later, she resorted to passive-aggressive behavior.

As time passes, however, Christine becomes more superficially accepting of her lot in life. Yet, the viewer can see an embittered Christine internalize her resentment, frustration, and dissatisfaction with her situation. Eventually, Christine's relationship with her mother totally deteriorates, and it is clear that there is little love lost between the two. Consequently, Christine grows up to be a tightly wound young woman, polite, reticent, and quiet, but seething with a strong current of emotion beneath the surface.

After a number of jobs as a maid, Christine finally finds a post with the well-to-do Lincelan family in the town of Le Mans. When Lea (Julie-Marie Parmentier) grows older, Clemence seeks to place her as a maid, as well. Having vowed that she would always look after her younger sister, Lea, Christine hatches a scheme. Not wanting to be separated from her sister, Christine manipulates her employer and ensures that Lea is placed with her in the Lincelan home.

At first, all seems well, although they find themselves looking for ways of circumventing the pettiness of their employer's frugality towards them. Then, Christine and Lea's relationship begins to change. Eventually, the somewhat dim Lea would come under the total domination of her sister. They would spend all their time together, and their close, sisterly relationship would develop a sexual component, leading to a shocking, incestuous relationship, with Lea always following Christine's lead.

One day, Madame Lincelan and her daughter return home unexpectedly, while Christine and Lea are engaged in activities other than their chores. When Christine goes to head them off at the pass, all hell breaks loose, as she takes some pretty extreme action towards them. Lea joins her in forever silencing the petty despots who had ruled their lives with an iron fist. These whirling dervishes of destruction would show no mercy.

This is a very well acted film. Sylvie Testud turns in a bravura performance as the edgy, emotionally repressed, and mentally unbalanced Christine. Julie-Marie Parmentier lends a dewy innocence to the role of Lea. The rest of the cast likewise gives excellent performances. The cinematography is suitably neutral in tone, lending a stark, austere quality to the film. This is a film that will keep the viewer riveted, but in the end it can hardly be said to be enjoyable in the accepted sense, as the emotions that it conjures are so disquieting. Still, this is a deftly directed, well acted film that is certainly worth seeing, especially if one is a true crime aficionado.



June 29, 2005

REVENGE - and some incestuous lesbian scenes.........

This case of murder has inspired many interesting adaptations over the years. The best being Jean Genet's fabulous one act play called the 'Maids'.
Whereas Genet's play focuses on the social role-playing that leads to the crime (in the play the murder is never actually shown) - this film adaptation gives us detailed background information about the sisters and focuses more on the possible sexual relationship between them (and their strong inseperability). It also gives a quite graphic picture of the actual murder. I found this film to be quite engaging on many levels - I am still more intellectually drawn to Genet's play, however, it leaves out more - but is effective in doing so. October 6, 2004

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