Gervaise (1956)

A laundress (Maria Schell) and her children in mid 19th century Paris are abandoned by her lover (Armand Mestral). Things look up when she remarries but after her husband (Francois Perier) has an accident after a fall from a roof, things take a turn for the worse. Based on the novel L'ASSOMMOIR by Emile Zola and directed by Rene Clement (FORBIDDEN GAMES. This Oscar nominated (best foreign) film is a dour look at the deterioration of a human soul, piece by piece until it's demolished. What keeps one from giving oneself over to the film completely is the heroine's complicity in her own victimization and ultimate destruction. One simply can't sympathize with her. Maria Schell's performance is exquisite (she won the Venice film festival best actress award) even if she is playing a human dishrag. It's a painful, joyless watch. The mise en scene is beautifully constructed and evocative by production designer Paul Bertrand. The score is by Georges Auric. With a wonderfully wicked performance by Suzy Delair as the sly Virginie who waits years for her revenge, Jacques Harden whose blacksmith remains the most likable character and little Chantal Gozzi as the cunning Nana, the daughter of Schell and Perier, who would grow up to become the heroine of Zola's next novel and several film adaptations.