Full time, This is the story of Julie, a single mother of two children, she travels every day between Essonne and Paris. Every day is a struggle to get to work on time, that of head waiter in a Parisian palace. She has to manage her team, the nanny and her children. We follow her on the day of a major transport strike. Directed by Eric Gravel, the film has already won awards at the Venice Film Festival. Laure Calamy, interpreter of Julie, notably received the Horizons prize for best actress.
franceinfo: What did you like about this film?
Laura Calamy: I found the script relentless when I read it. And in the work, Eric Gravel asked me not to give too much. It fascinated me to work like that, I was used to being in roles where I was more “exit”. There, it’s a game that is more inside. Even if it comes out at times, because Julie has to evacuate everything she collects. It’s a social film, with this action film grammar that takes you away.
“There is something very beautiful about this woman who looks like lots of women in France, who take on this double or triple day.”
Laura Calamyat franceinfo
These women arrive at work with already three, four hours behind them. Julie leaves, it is dark; she comes in, it’s dark. And we see her different facets: when she is a maid, when she is going to have her job interview, with her children… we see the multiplicity of beings.
But he is not an idealized character. His insistence on finding solutions, to pass his job interview, can have harmful consequences on others.
Is it also a political and feminist film?
Yes, in fact, but it is not obvious. The widespread transport strike will be the grain of sand that derails Julie’s fragile system. With Eric Gravel, we agreed to add the line “I would like to go to demonstrate, but I have to go to work“. We didn’t want people to think that the film was a criticism of the strikes. In the end, it’s still a call. There is this woman alone, who has to hold on alone, who is not represented.
What touched me was also the job she does: chambermaid in a luxury hotel. It was something that touched me. It’s a job where there’s no room for error., with increasingly harsh conditions. This raises questions about this world of work.