The ceremony

‘A middle-class family is looking for a housemaid for their country estate. The woman they choose proves to be conscientious, if somewhat stubborn. She has a secret to hide. The relationship with the happy family comes under further strain when the housemaid befriends a rebellious local post office clerk (Isabelle Huppert), who stirs up her anger towards middle-class life. Whilst the Salzburg Festival is being broadcast on television, the pent-up class hatred explodes. One of Chabrol’s absolute masterpieces, a psychological thriller that unfolds with astronomical precision and dreamlike inevitability, with surreal humour lurking in the corners, echoing Buñuel.’ (Christoph Huber, Austrian Film Museum, Sep 2016)

‘In her black leather jacket, Isabelle Huppert imbues her Breton barricade fighter with a proletarian punk attitude. When she finally destroys her opponents’ upper-class bedroom, she does so with the exuberance with which rock stars used to tear apart hotel rooms. For her fifth film directed by Claude Chabrol, Isabelle Huppert received the Coppa Volpi in Venice (alongside her co-star Sandrine Bonnaire) as well as the French César Award.” (Berlinale, Feb 2022)