Marion Cotillard was director Benoît Jacquot's original choice to play Celestine. Had she starred in the film, it would have been the second time that she would have played a character that was played by Jeanne Moreau. Cotillard played the younger version of Moreau's character in Lisa (2001) and Moreau played Celestine in O Diário de uma Camareira (1964).
The film is based on the novel by Octave Mirbeau, "Le Journal d'une femme de chambre." There have been two other film versions. The first was an English-language version directed by Jean Renoir (1946), and the second was directed by Luis Bunuel (1964).
French visa # 136.639.