Maternité (1935): A Slow, Heavy Dose of French Melodrama

Is this for you?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s French cinema and don’t mind feeling a bit drained by the end of a film, you might actually like Maternité. If you want something fast, fun, or remotely optimistic, stay far, far away. This is for the people who want to see a period piece that isn't afraid to be completely and utterly miserable.

Honestly, watching this felt a bit like being trapped in a rainy train station. The pacing is deliberate—some might say glacial—but it gives you time to look at the wallpaper. And the hats. God, the hats are intense.

Rosay is the anchor

Françoise Rosay is doing so much work here that I felt tired just looking at her. She carries the whole movie on her shoulders, often with just a flicker of her eyes. There’s a specific scene where she’s just standing near a doorway, and the way the light hits her face… it’s the kind of thing that makes you forgive the movie for being so damn slow.

She’s not playing a saint, either. She’s playing someone who is just trying to survive the crushing weight of everything. It felt grounded, which is more than I can say for some of the other stuff from that decade.

The bits that stuck

• The silence in the middle of the second act is so heavy you could cut it with a knife.
• The supporting cast is… fine? They mostly just stand around looking concerned.
• There is a moment with a letter that lingers for at least thirty seconds too long. It was almost funny how much they wanted us to feel the gravitas of that piece of paper.
• The lighting in the hospital scenes is oddly soft, almost like they were trying to hide the fact that the set was built out of cardboard and hope.

It’s not as energetic as Oh! Louise!, which feels like a different universe entirely. This one is interested in the grit and the grime of domestic life, not the spectacle. Sometimes it works, sometimes you’re just waiting for someone to walk through a door already.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's just a really serious movie that knows exactly what it wants to be. Even if that 'something' is a total downer. 🎞️