A gaggle of mothers, wives, daughters, maids, and mistresses gather for a
holiday homecoming at their country mansion -- and end up having to
solve a murder-mystery -- in this musical-comic homage to studio-era
"women's pictures" from acclaimed French director
François Ozon. Partly inspired by
George Cukor's 1939 classic
The Women,
8 Femmes stars
Catherine Deneuve as Gaby, a high-society matron just returned to her country house to celebrate Christmas with her husband; mother Mamy (
Danielle Darrieux); sister Augustine (
Isabelle Huppert); and daughters Suzon (
Virginie Ledoyen) and Catharine (
Ludivine Sagnier).
Not long after they all arrive, however, do they find the man of the
house with a knife in his back, whereupon everyone becomes a suspect --
including maids Chanel (
Firmine Richard) and Louise (
Emmanuelle Béart). The mysterious arrival of Augustine's sister-in-law Pierrette (
Fanny Ardant)
only complicates matters, as the titular eight women find themselves
snowed in by a fierce blizzard, forced to confront the matter of the
lifeless husband -- and their long-standing secrets and resentments --
without the aid of the police. Following its immensely successful
release in France in early 2002,
8 Women enjoyed much acclaim at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals.
