Keyword Domesticity

Somewhere between the 1930s and now, the cameras start turning and Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich gather on one film set. The floor gleams, the spotlights are burning, the narration starts. Born out of a fascination for the construction that is Hollywood, and by extension ‘the perfect Hollywood home’, the maker embodies three actresses from Hollywood’s golden era and their so-called private lives. Their smallest personality traits are performed so precise and characteristically that it becomes artificial. The home isn’t homely. It plays “house” and the inhabitants are speaking Hollywoodian. In this setting, the maker of the film recalls memories of growing up in her childhood home.

Juliette was simply not sure about coming to live in this residential suburb of the greater Paris metropolitan area. All the women here are in their forties, have children to raise, houses to keep and husbands who return home late at night.Today she has an appointment in Paris that is important for her career, but she also has to run errands and pick up the kids from school. During the course of her day, monopolized by petty, everyday tasks, Juliette can feel the noose of domestic obligations and household chores slowly tightening around her neck.

A housewife tires of her husband's annoying behavior and returns to her mother. At first, the husband is quite pleased to have the house all to himself. But he quickly discovers that even the most basic domestic chores can be fraught with difficulty.

The time has come for Redvers Potter to relinquish his role as head of the family confectionary firm, Pottermints - his company has been taken over and he is now going into enforced retirement. His wife, Aileen, is not too happy about having her husband under her feet either, but Potter is determined to make the most of his retirement. He decides he will give people the benefit of his managerial experience - even if they don't want it.