How to Be a Good Wife

Martin Provost
2020-03-11


5.7
108 min

Paulette Van Der Beck and her husband have been running the housekeeping school of Bitche in Alsace for many years. Their mission is to train teenage girls to become the perfect housewives at a time when women were expected to be subservient to their husband. After the sudden death of her husband, Paulette discovers that the school is on the verge of bankruptcy and has to take her responsibilities. But while preparations are underway for the best housekeeping competition TV show, she and her lively students start questioning their beliefs as the nation-wide protests of May 1968 transform society around them. Reunited with her first love, André, and with the help of her eccentric stepsister Gilberte and strict nun Marie-Therese, Paulette joins forces with the schoolgirls to overcome their suppressed status and become liberated women.

Cast

Name Character Team
Juliette Binoche Paulette Van Der Beck Goutbreak
Yolande Moreau Gilberte Van der Beck Unowned
Noémie Lvovsky Marie-Therese Unowned
Édouard Baer André Grunvald Unowned
François Berléand Robert Van der Beck Unowned
Marie Zabukovec Annie Fuchs Unowned
Anamaria Vartolomei Albane Des-deux-Ponts Unowned
Lily Taïeb Yvette Ziegler Unowned
Pauline Briand Corinne Schwartz Unowned
Armelle Christiane Rougemont Unowned
Marine Berlanger Residential school student Unowned
Clémence Blondeau Residential school student Unowned
Marie Cornillon Marie-Jo Lorentz Unowned
Lauren Deguitre Residential school student Unowned
Clémentine Delange Residential school student Unowned
Juliet Doucet Residential school student Unowned
Suzanne-Marie Gabriel Residential school student Unowned
Elise Girard Residential school student Unowned
Marie-Anne Guilbert Residential school student Unowned
Sasha Herschritt Residential school student Unowned
Margaux Houssiaux Residential school student Unowned
Blandine Laignel Residential school student Unowned
Andréa Mands Residential school student Unowned
Salomé Soares Residential school student Unowned
Julien Sibre The “bonjour madame” assistant Unowned
Stéphane Bissot Raymonde Unowned
Dominique Pozzetto The priest Unowned
Philippe Morand Mr. Schmitt Unowned
Cécile Dominjon Birgit, the waitress at Mado Unowned
Stéphane Hausauer Mr. Frantz, the waiter at Mado Unowned
François Hauteserre The motorist in the traffic jam Unowned
Cécile Ribault-Caillol Ménie Grégoire (voice) Unowned
Alex Dey Gaëtan Unowned
Lucas Bleger The bistro customer Unowned
Perrine Avisse The makeup artist Unowned