La Banquière

Based on the real-life story of Marthe Hanau, La Banquière stars Romy Schneider as Emma Eckhert, a female banker who rises to the top of the Parisian financial world in the 1920s.
A charismatic, charming and adept woman, Eckhert has made a fortune on the stock exchange and set up a powerful banking cooperation, which offers its investors far higher rates of interest than all competitors. The traditional bankers become irked by her unconventional practices, not only financial but also personal, as she unabashedly flaunts her adultery and homosexuality. Inevitably, Eckhert attracts the attention of an increasingly threatening clan of conspiring enemies.
Francis Girod’s ambitious film is an important work of cinema for numerous reasons. Although an historical piece, the subject matter is of continuing relevance today, as the glass ceiling remains seemingly impenetrable for women in the financial world, which once again finds itself on the cusp of crisis. The complex world of business, with its backhand deals, betrayals and political manipulation, is drawn out through an astute script and sharp performances from a cast of France’s greatest actors, including Claude Brasseur, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Claude Brialy and Marie-France Pisier. Of particular note however, are Jean-Louis Trintignant (Horace Vannister) and Schneider, who seven years after their romantic pairing, infused with chemistry, in Le Train, are pitted against each other as rivals in the cutthroat world of banking. Trintignant’s portrayal is one of pure menace, while Schneider’s exudes all the elements – passion, integrity and pain – we have come to expect from the superlative actress in one of her last and greatest performances.
In addition to the lavish period spectacle on screen, listen out also for another majestic score from the maestro Ennio Morricone.