Tatie Danielle

Etienne Chatiliez, France, 1990, 111 minutes

Tatie Danielle is Etienne Chatiliez's second film, another black comedy which tries terribly hard to poke fun at middle class mores. Tatie Danielle (Tsilla Chelton) is a malicious-minded, supremely evil old widow who thrives on other peoples' misery, especially that of her long-suffering housekeeper. When the poor woman "mysteriously" falls from a stepladder one cannot help but breath a sigh of relief. Duped by her "helpless" granny act, the unsuspecting family welcomes Tatie the Tyrant into their bourgeois existence. The peaceful family are abnormally tolerant of this unpleasant addition to their household and, contrary to the director's intentions, earn much more sympathy and respect than ridicule.

Tatie's match pops up in the form of a no-shit nanny (sulkily played by Isabelle Nanty) who seems sufficiently stubborn and pig-headed for the job. Birds of a feather stick together. The two form a rather warped relationship, where the one respect:s the other's bloody-mindedness. Much of dialogue is razor-sharp, and where this mixes with Chatiliez's well-observed domestic scenes, humour seems to flourish. Whether one laughs from shock, pity or genuine amusement, Tatie Danielle's behaviour has to be seen to be believed.

Review by Emma Wilson
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93