Synopsis
In 1977 France, tightfisted factory owner Robert Pujol is so shocked when his workers strike for higher wages that he suffers a heart attack. His acquiescent wife, Suzanne, whose father had founded the factory, takes over management duties during Robert's convalescence.
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Cast
- Catherine DeneuveSuzanne Pujol
- Gérard DepardieuMaurice Babin
- Fabrice LuchiniRobert Pujol
- Karin ViardNadège
- Jérémie RenierLaurent Pujol
- Judith GodrècheJoëlle
- Élodie FrégéSuzanne Pujol (jeune)
- Sergi LópezLe chauffeur du camion
- Bruno LochetLe délégué CGT
- Évelyne DandryLa soeur de Suzanne Pujol
Recommendations
- 83
The A.V. Club
Funny, twisty, and sometimes bittersweet, Potiche is a fluffy good time, but not entirely insubstantial. - 75
Observer
Ms. Deneuve has been directed by everyone from François Truffaut to Roman Polanski, but she has gone on the record saying she has a special rapport with Mr. Ozon (the 2002 film "8 Women" remains a classic). He brings out such a loopy delicacy in her that she shines-a charming, witty centerpiece from start to finish. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
An Orson Welles-size Gérard Depardieu does gallant work as the town's leftist mayor. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Has plenty of contemporary sparkle and life, courtesy of a masterful central performance by grande dame Catherine Deneuve. - 70
Variety
Eight years after the crowd-pleasing "8 Women" and a mostly impressive run of small-scale arthouse films, Francois Ozon effortlessly moves back to the mainstream with another sparkling, occasionally side-splitting adaptation of a French boulevard-theater play. - 70
Village Voice
Like its heroine, Potiche is deceptively lightweight, its camp screwball fizziness giving way to a surprisingly cogent feminist parable, in which the personal proves again and again to be the most volatile variable in the political. - 70
The New York Times
You suspect, before long, that there is no strong reason for this production to exist, but it is reasonably good fun all the same. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Helping to keep this ship from keeling over is the great professionalism and light touch of Deneuve and Depardieu. Costars numerous times, they go together as comfortably as an old pair of gloves. Potiche very much counts on this, and it has not miscalculated.
