Au Bonheur des Dames

About

Denise, an orphaned girl, moves to Paris where she hopes to find work at her uncle's store. But the glamorous department store 'Aux Bonheur des Dames' across the street crushes all the little businesses around. She finds a position there.

This early sound era gem trades typical period sentimentality for a sharp, almost predatory look at how consumerism swallows local life. Instead of a simple romance, the camera focuses on the shimmering, mechanical hunger of a department store consuming its neighbors.