Le Journal d'une femme de chambre (Diary of a Chambermaid)

For ten years now, the uncompromising films of Romanian director Radu Jude have been an integral part of Film Fest Gent. Following last year’s Dracula and Kontinental ’25, this edition sees the cultural polymath and absolute speed filmmaker spice things up with his self-proclaimed adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s famous 19th-century novel Le Journal d’une femme de chambre. Jude sets the story in contemporary France – complete with video calls – and reimagines the maid as a Romanian woman with a daughter far away in her homeland. Combined with a clever meta-structure, this allows the mischievous filmmaker to take a critical look at both the source material and the precarious circumstances of migrant workers. As always, the film is peppered with sharp-witted humour and socio-political jibes that only Jude can get away with. He surrounds the fresh face of lead actress Ana Dumitrașcu with well-known French talent such as Marie Rivière (see the FFG Classics section on Éric Rohmer).