The Overworked
France
•
24m
Directed by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze • Drama • 1957 • 25 minutes
A morality tale about the dangers of modern urban life. Catherine (Yane Barry), a champion young typist from small-town France, heads to Paris to be with her fiancé (Jean-Pierre Cassel) — who also happens to be her new boss. Living with her sister and brother-in-law, she becomes enchanted with the big city — and is soon seduced not just by the dancing and parties, but also by a young and exciting PR man named Jimmy (Jean-Claude Brialy). Meanwhile, at home, her brother-in-law is worn out and exhausted, the result of too many years of pushing himself to the limit. Can Catherine find some kind of balance before she too collapses?
Co-written by François Truffaut, THE OVERWORKED is notable for its breakneck pacing, mirroring the perils of modern life, and Barry’s performance as the ingenue, trying to find her way in the metropolis.
Up Next in France
-
Fool's Mate (Le Coup du Berger)
Directed by Jacques Rivette • Drama • With Virginie Vitry, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze • 1957 • 27 minutes
An early film from the six-decade career of hugely influential French director and critic Jacques Rivette.
Claire (Virginie Vitry) is given a gorgeous fur coat by her lover...
-
Seraphine (Martin Provost)
Directed by Martin Provost • Drama • With Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur • 2009 • 125 minutes
Séraphine is the true story of Seraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (Yolande Moreau), a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper who in 1905 at age 41 — self-taught and with the instigation of her guar...
-
Janine
Directed by Maurice Pialat • Drama • 2023 • 17 minutes
During a desultory night on the town—playing pool, buying the paper, eating fries—two men talk about their experiences with women. One of them (Hubert Deschamps) disparages his ex-wife, “the queen of whores,” who he admits to beating with hi...
