The Mad Women's Ball

A film with Amazon Studios adapted a literary historical novel that describes the atrocities endured by institutionalized women in 19th-century Paris.

Paris, 1885: The Salpetriere Asylum. Dr. Charcot hypnotizes ladies who have been declared insane and expelled from society, captivating the attention of the entire city of Paris. The reality, however, is far more nuanced: these women are frequently just unwelcome, inconvenient wives, bereaved mothers, wayward daughters, or daughters of adulterous partnerships. The Madwomen's extravaganza, a Lenten extravaganza when the rich and famous gather to marvel at the Salpetriere patients who are resplendent for a single evening, is the most anticipated event of the year for Parisian society. It's a rare moment of hope for the women themselves.

It is a senior nurse, Genevieve. She rejected religion and put her trust in science and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Charcot following the loss of her sister Blandine when she was a young girl. But when she meets Eugenie, the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family who has committed her to an asylum, everything starts to change. Since Eugenie sees spirits, she has a secret. Eugenie is desperate to get free from the asylum and the constraints of her gender in order to find people who will believe in her, motivated by the scandalous, out-of-print book, The Book of Spirits, that has everyone in Paris talking about. And Genevieve's assistance will be needed for it...