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Potiche

Set in 1977 in a provincial French town, POTICHE is a free adaptation of the 1970s eponymous hit comic play. Catherine Deneuve is Suzanne Pujol, a submissive, housebound 'trophy housewife' (or "potiche,") who steps in to manage her wealthy and tyrannical husband (Fabrice Lucchini)'s umbrella factory after the workers go on strike and take him hostage. To everyone's surprise, Suzanne proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action. But when her husband returns from a restful cruise in top form, things get complicated. Gerard Depardieu plays a former union leader and Suzanne's ex-beau who still holds a flame for her. Acclaimed writer-director Francois Ozon ("Swimming Pool," "Under the Sand," "Time to Leave,") who had previously directed Ms. Deneuve in "8 Women," twists the original play on its head to create his own satirical and hilarious take on the war between the sexes and classes. (Source)

Set in a French bourgeois province in 1977, the submissive wife of a rich industrialist must manage the factory when the workers go on strike. (Source)

A trophy wife proves capable of much more than acting as an adornment for her egotistical husband in director François Ozon's adaptation of the hit play by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy. Saint-Guénolé, France: 1977. Their children having long since grown up and moved out, submissive housewife Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) spends most of her days catering to her ornery husband, Robert (Fabrice Luchini), the owner of his family's prosperous umbrella factory. But Robert is hardly a savvy businessman, so when his workers protest their poor working conditions by going on strike, the stress leads him to suffer a massive heart attack. This provides Suzanne with the perfect opportunity to finally show her true value, and with a little help from the mayor (and her former lover), Maurice Babin (Gérard Depardieu), the much ridiculed trophy wife manages to get the factory back up and running so efficiently that the exasperated, trash-talking workers are forced to eat their words. Later, Robert makes a full recovery, and resorts to some decidedly unethical tactics to wrestle back control of the factory. But Robert's hasty grab for power sparks a bitter battle of wills with his unusually shrewd wife, who isn't about to give up her newfound leadership role without a fight. - Jason Buchanan, Rovi (Source)