"Gervaise" is an adaptation of the novel "L'assommoir" (1877, Emile Zola). In this novel a working cass woman breaks down due to a lot of bad luck and a lot of booze. When the novel came out there was discussion if the book was defending the working class (describing their harsh live) or insulting the working class (describing their alcohol abuse).
The film above everything seems to be defending women, describing the struggle Gervaise (Maria Schell) has to wage against the two idlers of husbands that play a role in her life. This is because the film omits the excessive pride of Gervaise that she does have in the novel. This results in a totally innocent woman having bad luck again and again. This overdose of bad luck gives the film a somewhat moralistic tone (it has sometimes been denoted as a very long commercial against alcohol abuse) and even becomes unintentionally funny / corny.
Although the film is somewhat outdates, it was one of the nominees for best foreign language film in 1956, so the film must have its pros. Apart from the acting of Maria Schell I would like to mention the beautiful setpieces. The film has partly the same bittersweet (a little bit more bitter) mood as "Casque d'or" (1952, Jacques Becker), a film that was made and situated in the same time as "Gervaise".
