because this film is a poetry...the developing prose of the story with the abstract implying ideas (specially the suggestive narrative story telling) that synchronize in the rhythmical scenes and intense drama of passion, along the scripts playing with language from polite to vulgar.... and then there's how it's filmed rich in emotion from all the characters even by the by-standers, with an almost accurate period movie where past early after turn of the 20th century we get to glimpse travel.... but at always this film remain or kept itself simplistic in style despite the intricate weaving and integrating of the art of old world romance, dark mystery movie and sarcastic humour in suppress comedy, while the drama of human conflicts and aspirations are all in one (it all depends on your receptors at the time of watching)... or very accessible to watch...and then there is the way of how contrasting dimensional realities (but naturally looked at as life) becomes romantic even in the hindsight tragic of titanic (distasteful exploitation of as soon as that event happened)... and then on top of even another dimension is that the story is focus on the fantasy element - huge passionate erotic romantic narration that are all base to the "keep coming back to that ultimate one-night stand" which is the center of the plot....For instance: life in the smelters or foundry, the peasantry lower working families of rural mining processor towns, the intrigues and the theatrics of salacious subject matter have driven the pheasant existence of workers who could only dream of what's life in opulence, of experiencing real passionate romantic escapade in the midst of luxury even as a servitude (instead of just daily toiling and working to meet the basic necessity in the back-draft of small rural factory town)... sexual passion with a sensual stranger in forms of flashbacks that make one wonder of life beyond the town.... the main character's fantasy is now the town's.... whereby it begins to represent the workers' escape of a humdrum life, as all they want is to be entertained with stories of concocted true events or fantastic lies well put together..... which really is the component (patronizing crowd audience) and what is binding to the elements (the story telling or narrative) of the film...what really is surprising and very much what makes treasure of the film is between Olivier Martinez and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon chemistry and real genuine passion, that's hard to fake sensual romantic intensity, as much as naturally born sexiness, sex appeal and good looks cannot be faked either....

This is a French film directed by the Spanish director Bigas Luna, who has done a very good job with a difficult and ambiguous subject, which alternates between reality and fantasy so often that it is like a shuttle service. One really does not know from one scene to the next whether something is really happening or is being imagined. That is a tightrope, but Luna does not fall off. In this, he is assisted by the dreamy performances of Olivier Martinez (half French, half Spanish-Moroccan) and the well known Spanish actress Aitana Sanchez-Gijon. Both of them keep us wondering all the way. The only solid earthy figure is Romane Bohringer, being as Anna Magnani-like as possible, a young earth mother, but still an earth mother. There is lots of passion, it's all over the place. Sometimes it is real, sometimes it is fantasy. One never knows for sure about some of it. When Martinez is telling his stories, his quiet, introspective but commanding presence effects us as much as it does his audiences in the film. Romane gets a bit carried away by the myth of the chambermaid and wishes to become the chambermaid, wishes to be sprayed in champagne. The chambermaid was not listed amongst the survivors of the Titanic, so this creates a story steeped in tragedy. People like tragic passion best, because it is unattainable by definition, and can never disappoint. Or can it? Perhaps things are not entirely as they seem in more ways than one in this story. This film shows clearly how love and sensuality thrive in the hothouse of ambivalence and ambiguity: does someone really exist? Do they feel love too? Is the love simulated? Can any passion be trusted? Ultimately, it comes down to this: is reality even real?

Another viewing of this film recently simply left me where I was before: there is something about Bigas Luna which escapes me, or just simply irritates me. Whereas any viewing of Aitana Sánchez-Gijón evidently has its pluses, inasfar as anything else related to the story being told, I think I would rather make do with the pages of Didier Decoin.Having already waded through the insufferable `Las Edades de Lulú' (qv), `La Teta y La Luna' (definitely no qv), the trivial and frivolous `Bámbola' (qv), and the overstated and over-coloured `Volavérunt' (qv), I think I can only be glad that, thus far, I have missed out on `Jamón, Jamón' or `Los Huevos de Oro', among others, without being unfortunate enough to have missed out on anything. But the irritating thing is that Bigas Luna is a genius. Maybe not in the sense of getting the best acting interpretations – he doesn't – but certainly in all other techniques involved in making a film, especially in scene-setting for yesteryear and even longer ago. This is evidently apparent in `La Femme de Chambre du Titanic' and `Volavérunt', in which the Italian Franca Squarciapino is clearly one of the best specialists in the matter: the period costumes are superb in both films. I see on IMDb that she had plenty of schooling back in the 1980s with operatic productions.So I patiently sit here awaiting the next Bigas Luna – more or less anticipating what it will be, because I am definitely in no rush for it, and will not even be sorry if it goes by without my catching on. But if it does turn up, you can be sure I shall be watching: there is something fascinating about a man whose films do not exactly end up being very appetising fare but which show such remarkable cinematographic talent.

Guidelines???Whilst perusing the SBS sex week movies, we stumbled accross this action classic. Giovanni steals the show with his cooky antics, he even manages to juggle 3 things. 3!!!Horty's classic line re: smelter works whilsts wooing the woman will be a moment that stays with me forever. No wonder he got to knick her pippy 12 times in one night. Aminal.I highly recommend this film for any prospective lover or artist. Be well, be shell