20/05/2026 - CANNES 2026: Money flows freely but brings no happiness in Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz’s hard-hitting debut feature, a female-led exploration of life in a gilded cage

"It’s just the two of us; no one will ever know. " It is a story of two women who are polar opposites – one the partner of a Saudi prince living a life of luxury in Paris, the other her housekeeper and personal assistant, on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week – which Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz has chosen to tell in her intriguing debut feature, Madame. A gripping, closed-door drama under the watchful eye of surveillance cameras, which was unveiled as a Special Screening at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

"We’re looking for someone who can handle the day-to-day needs of a rather demanding client", "we’d like someone who has never worked with clients from the Gulf", "Madame doesn’t go out", "never be more beautiful than her, she wouldn’t appreciate it." Twenty-year-old Frenchwoman Laura (Malou Khebizi), about to join the army after a string of odd jobs, thus finds herself alone in the service of the very beautiful Souria (Soundos Mosbah) and Monsieur, Prince Al-Saleh (Kassem Al Khoja), whom she is not to look after (“when he’s here, you don’t speak, you don’t look him in the eye, and if he speaks to you, you reply: ‘Your Highness’”). Taking up residence on the lower floor of a sumptuous mansion, the young woman, paid 250 euros a day under the table, discovers an outrageous wealth (swimming pool included), a daily routine punctuated by visits from masseuses, manicurists, pedicurists and sales assistants from the private collections of major haute couture brands, behaviour that is more than just condescending (because “a cleaning lady is nobody”), doorbells ringing at all hours, and sometimes senseless waste on whims that are quickly forgotten. But she is keen to keep this job (to help her sister and nephew financially) and the days pass in constant fear (stirred up by Madame) of being sacked. Until Emre (Ziad Bakri), the gentleman’s chauffeur, reveals to him a hidden side to this opulence: “Souria could also be fired. She’s not his wife; he’s hiding her here (…) When we get back, you tell me what she’s been up to, who she’s calling, if anyone comes round, what she’s buying: everything.” Thus revelation will gradually draw Laura in, even into dangerous territory…

Written by the director and Pauline Guéna, the screenplay drives the plot forward at a fast pace (culminating in a somewhat contrived thriller-style climax), effectively weaving in insights into the place of women in Saudi culture (with a few distinctly French references to the degrading view of women held by some men), power dynamics (“ there are princes and then there are princes”) and on the dominance of money and impunity. An original, multi-layered feminist subject (“Do I make you feel sorry for me? Do you think I shouldn’t love him? – You shouldn’t let yourself be mistreated”) which Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz cleverly stages by mixing live shots with footage from the multiple surveillance cameras installed in every corner of the house, creating an atmospheric and thought-provoking narrative that leaves a trace in the absence of justice.

Madame was produced by Les Films de Pierre and co-produced by France 2 Cinéma, MK Productions (France), Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium) and 9245-1236 Québec Inc. (Canada). mk2 Films handles international sales.

(Translated from French)