Karole Rocher in “Madame Claude” by Sylvie Verheyde – Netflix
- Fernande Grubet alias Madame Claude ran a network of luxury prostitutes in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Director Sylvie Verheyde and actress Karole Rocher show a more raw version of her actions.
- This film flirts with crime fiction and spy cinema to deliver a fascinating reflection on the condition of women.
Fernande Grubet you know ? Maybe not under that name but his pseudonym of
Madame Claude is arguably more familiar. It is he who gives its title to Sylvie Verheyde’s film, available on Netflix this Friday. This star pimp and her network of handpicked luxury prostitutes evolved in the Paris of the 1960s and 1970s.
She was embodied by Francoise Fabian under the direction of Just Jaeckin in 1976 then by
Alexandra stewart under that of François Mimet in 1981. These rather sexy versions of his biography could no longer pass into the 21st century. The director of Sex doll and Confessions of a child of the century sweeps away the glamorous myth to entrust the overwhelming Karole Rocher with the task of getting closer to reality. “Even today, Madame Claude remains a figure of social and feminist emancipation. But it remains a monster nonetheless, ”declares the director in the press kit.
A history of women
The myth dies hard. “For my mother, Madame Claude was a female example of social success, who had found a way to take power over men,” insists the filmmaker. It is therefore a reflection on the female condition that she offers with this fascinating biopic that she describes as “based on real facts inspired by the imagined life of Fernande Grudet, known as Madame Claude” from the first images. Sylvie Verheyde engaged in copious research on Madame Claude who liked to take liberties with reality to create an adventurous life. The director has reviewed the legend in her turn. With, in particular, the intrusion of a young emancipated woman (superb Garance Marillier discovered in Serious by Julie Ducournau) who turns the life of this “boss” caparisoned in her solitude upside down.
A female thug
The director does not angelize her subject. The pimp viewed her “daughters” as reporting properties that could be beaten up by “friends” because the word “client” was prohibited. “Like all the antiheroes of black films, she says something about society, believes the filmmaker and at the same time, we can not validate what she does. Far from glorifying prostitution, the film shows the struggle for the survival of a woman forced to harshness by her condition. Sex is the only weapon she has to impose herself in a patriarchal society. But it is never shown in an erotic way. “They don’t make love, they work,” insists Sylvie Verheyde.
Madam of the Republic
This nickname “Madam of the Republic” that Madame Claude hated is also clearly illustrated by Sylvie Verheyde. The pimp moved behind the scenes of power between the world of politics and show business, between organized crime and the secret services. She was famous for keeping records of these clients. Built like a thriller, the film flirts with spy cinema to convey the grandeur and then the decadence of a woman who exploited the patriarchy as it was used by it. There is a lot of humanity in the portrait of Madame Claude that Sylvie Verheyde paints.