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 Diary of a Chambermaid (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.