8 Women

8 Women is a witty comedy that is both a parody of and a tribute to such different classic genres as the musical and the murder mystery.

The snow is falling, and the large, secluded villa looks very idyllic, but inside the atmosphere is undeniably different. Eight women are shut in after the master of the house, Marcel, has been found murdered. It gradually emerges that everyone present has a motive for the crime. That goes for Marcel's mother-in-law Mamy, his wife Gaby, his sister-in-law Augustine, the maids Louise and Chanel, his daughters Suzon and Catherine, and his sister Pierrette. As they try to solve the murder themselves, the skeletons come tumbling out of the closet - admittedly only in a symbolic sense, but still. Nothing is what it seems.

At regular intervals one of the women bursts into song, and however strange it may sound, this element is rather well integrated into the film. It may not be natural, but neither is that the norm in this extremely stylised film. The director Francois Ozon has in no way tried to hide that the film is based on a stage play. For example, the entire action is confined to the house, and the few outdoor scenes have clearly been shot on sets. On the other hand, real care has been lavished on the colour schemes and textures of the decor and costumes. Nor is realism aimed for in the characterisation, for every one of the film's women without exception comes across as a hot-tempered and calculating fury.

The stylisation helps give the film a touch of superficiality that it cannot shake off, and it is forgotten the minute you step out of the cinema, but in the darkness of the auditorium the plot is constantly surprising, and the visuals are a feast for the eyes.