THE CHAMBERMAID ON THE TITANIC
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Goldwyn Films Director: Bigas Luna Writer: Bigas Luna, Cuca Canals, Jean-Louis Benoit from the novel by Didier Decoin Cast: Romane Bohringer, Olivier Martinez, Aitana Sanchez Gijon, Didier Bezace, Aldo Maccione
Our elementary school teachers tell us that we should never lie. They point to George Washington, who, admitting that he chopped down the cherry tree, was not punished because he told the truth. What's more, criminals who confess are let off with lighter sentences, as are those who snitch on their associates. We must never lie.
Nonsense, of course. Look at all the trouble Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) got into in "Liar, Liar," in one case securing a punch in the nose by an endowed woman in an elevator for telling her the truth about her anatomy, and about to lose every client he defends in court by being the only honest lawyer in town! Someone once said that if everyone told the truth, there would not be two friends left in the whole world.
Which brings us to "The Chambermaid on the Titanic." This French-Italian-Spanish coproduction is not about to compete with the blockbuster movie starring Leo DiCaprio, nor is it primarily a bedroom farce, sentimental comedy, or gritty, neo-realist view of the lives of working-class men in a French foundry. It is, more accurately, an ode to lying. Without the ability to lie at great length, we would have no theater, no novels, no movies; in short, not a heck of a lot to live for. Or so believes Bigas Luna, who directed and co- wrote this clever work which he divides skillfully into four parts, using a different photographic look for each segment. Even in our own age of mass media and the all- encompassing power of television, we still love to hear a story, and sometimes we gather round a very good prevaricator who will weave a tale of adventure or romance, riveting us simply with the power of his voice and the energy of his narrative.
Such a man is Horty (Olivier Martinez), a handsome, popular, somewhat shy worker who wins an annual contest sponsored by his company's president Simeon (Didier Bezace). By beating the competition in a race, he is given just one ticket that will transport him by rail to Southampton where he will stay in a luxury hotel and then watch the sailing of the Titanic. But he must leave his wife Zoe (Romane Bohringer) behind--which is part of the boss's plan to seduce her while her man is away. In the posh hotel, he is visited late at night by a beautiful woman, Marie (Aitana Sanchez Gijon), who claims to be a chambermaid on the Titanic, but one who is somehow left without a place to stay that night. Offering to share his own quarters with the lovely creature, Horty sleeps with her--literally!--and, loyal to his wife back home, gets to touch the fair roommate only in his dreams. When he returns, he is told that his wife had a brief affair with the company president and, resentful and furious at the thought, he weaves a long, almost totally false story of his sexual escapades, riveting his friends in the local bar. Hired by the majordomo of a traveling theater, Zeppe (Aldo Maccione), he eventually captivates increasingly large audiences with variations on the theme, even affording his wife a part in the daily drama.
We learn in theater history class that at first there was the story; then a single actor to relate the tale; then a second actor to dialogue with the storyteller; eventually a third, an increasingly elaborate set and costume design and instrumental music. "The Chambermaid on the Titanic" is a well-realized microcosm of this three-thousand year chronicle, told economically in just ninety-six minutes, putting the principal performers to fine use. Aitana Sanchez Gijon, whom we all know from her role opposite Keanu Reeves in "A Walk in the Clouds," is radiant as a woman who turns out to be other than she represents; Olivier Martinez an engaging storyteller who is so proficient at what he does that his final episode fools everyone in the movie audience; and Romane Bohringer a competent model of a typical wife of a hard- working industrial laborer in the France of 1915.
Walter Caprara and Bruno Cesari's production design looks authentic down to the iron maiden used to transport Horty to England, and France Squarciapino's costume design was vigorous enough to win an award in that category. In an interview with the director, Bigas Luna expressed his fear that the mass media are drowning the tradition of storytelling, and acknowledges his use of the Titanic to symbolize the gradual sinking of the ancient tradition. Perhaps the great irony of the story is that it took a well-designed movie to project this anxiety and to rejuvenate the teller of lies on his appropriate pedestal. Not Rated. Running time: 96 minutes. (C) Harvey Karten 1998
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