I will start out this review by stating that I adore foreign films, French films and Isabelle, Jacqueline and Claude's work.
But this movie was just not working for me.
One- the character of Sophie was unsympathetic especially when she turned on Melinda -the one person who had been kind to her in the house.
It was an annoying film with no substance and no direction.
Very disappointing.

this film was moving in the right direction, and then it took a wrong turn for the worse. it was like rating with four stars down to zero.

To paraphrase Roger Ebert, "What are we going to do with these people?" I've seen so many good films (including La Ceremonie) slagged by people who evidently didn't get the entertainment value that they were hoping for, I feel I have to speak out.There is a difference between something like, for instance, "Transformers", which was made to titillate the senses and amuse on a superficial level, and something like "La Ceremonie", which was made to be (and is, in my opinion) a work of art. The two types of films are trying to do different things. And fair enough, if you were looking for entertainment and didn't get what you were looking for, that's a real drag. But when you review something that you don't really understand because no one has ever taught you how to watch a "film", all you do is expose your own ignorance, and potentially mislead people who enjoy difficult / challenging films. Thanks for listening.Also...Chabrol's "La Ceremonie" is a powerful film about a family who hires a new housekeeper, Sophie, and the strangeness that ensues. Sophie is odd, and we soon learn that she seems to be hiding things from the family. As the legendary director leads us to a final confrontation, he reveals much about family, social expectations, and the dark edges of human behavior. A wonderful film by a truly great director.

Just another french failure. The first hour and twenty minutes of this film are some of the most boring screen minutes you're likely to find anywhere. To say that the running time of this turd has been padded, is to insult padded running times the world over. The only interesting part of the movie starts at 1:42:00 or so and ends at around 1:46:00, so as to bore you for another 6 minutes. The main reason I watched is because I always thought Jackie Bissett was super hot, and she still was in 1995, but unless you have dedicated your life to seeing all her movies, you should definitely skip this one! Terrible!