6 Faces of François Ozon’s Potiche

This set of six domestic French character posters for François Ozon’s Potiche (featuring Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Lucchini, Karin Viard, Jérémie Renier and Judith Godreche) sells the film as a non-highbrow comedy, and is perhaps the first indication as to why Cannes was less welcoming to include the film in their main comp. Ozon was probably amongst the first to land spots in Venice and Toronto. 

In 1977 in a French provincial town, POTICHE is a free adaptation of the 1970s eponymous French hit comic play. Deneuve is Suzanne, a submissive, housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (or “potiche,”) who steps in to manage her wealthy husband’s umbrella factory after the workers go on strike and take him hostage. To everyone’s surprise, she proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action. But when her husband returns from a restful cruise in top form, things get complicated. Depardieu plays a union leader and Suzanne’s former beau who still holds a flame for her.