`CHAMBERMAID' DROPS TITANIC BUT KEEPS ALL ITS CHARMS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

This French production by Spanish director Bigas Luna was called ``The Chambermaid on the Titanic'' until a few weeks ago. It's anybody's guess why they dropped the title reference to a certain 1912 disaster that you may have heard about, but it's kind of a shame.

It's not clueless kids who'll try anything with ``Titanic'' in the title that are going to miss out. Rather, it's more sophisticated viewers who would surely be tickled by the film's (admittedly inadvertent) satire of James Cameron's behemoth but who now may think this is just another movie about the life of a domestic servant.

Whatever it's called, ``The Chambermaid'' is a droll jewel by any standards. Intricate and multilayered yet surprisingly easy to follow, it sets off like some kind of Emile Zola social tragedy but gradually, persuasively evolves into an evermore outrageous comedy.

At the same time, it's a sweet, heartfelt tribute to the romantic impulse and how it can both threaten and save a troubled marriage - and how, when intermingled with the morbid fascination a world-class calamity can generate, it can change the lives of those clever enough to know how to exploit the public's fascination.

Horty (Olivier Martinez), a young worker at a dreadful metal foundry in a part of France where it has always just rained, wins a company-sponsored endurance contest. The not-so-generous prize is a single ticket to Southampton and a hotel reservation there, so he can watch the mighty ocean liner start its maiden voyage.

The foundry owner just wants Horty out of the way for a few days so he can make a play for the poor worker's comely wife, Zoe (Romane Bohringer). And no sooner has the naive Frenchman settled into his English hotel room than the equally attractive Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) knocks at his door. She claims to be starting a job on the Titanic in the morning but has nowhere to sleep that night, and could a fellow countryman put her up?

It remains unclear whether Horty accepts Marie's late-night invitation to join her in bed. It's equally uncertain whether, upon his return home, his growing suspicions about Zoe's faithfulness are justified. Nevertheless, to drown his jealous sorrows, Horty takes up semipermanent residence at the local pub, where he regales his comrades (and cadges drinks) with outlandishly embellished recollections of his passionate night with the Titanic maid.

When Zoe gets wind of this, she's understandably miffed. Once the ship goes down, adding a tragic dimension to the bawdy stories, a traveling impresario hears about Horty's recitals and offers him a lucrative road trip. Still bent out of shape, Zoe nonetheless knows a good thing when she sees it. Soon, the bickering couple are barnstorming the countryside, giving increasingly elaborate, heart-tugging performances to bigger and better-paying audiences.

And the sky's the limit, as long as no one finds out the truth. But even then, this early-century Cameron story is so involving . . .

Based on a novel by Didier Decoin, ``Chambermaid'' was in production at the same time as ``Titanic,'' which makes its amusing insights into why people are so susceptible to titillating hokum even more astonishing. It would not be half as effective, though, without its wry understanding of how fantasy and pragmatism can mix up to impact a relationship mired in real-world concerns.

It's also something of a different outing for Luna, whose previous films such as ``Jamon Jamon'' and ``Golden Balls'' have been vigorously vulgar travesties/celebrations of Spanish sensuality and machismo.

``Chambermaid'' is a calmer, almost classically presented affair.

No less naughty, though, and probably his smartest film to date.

THE FACTS

The film: ``The Chambermaid'' (Not rated; sex, nudity, violence).

The stars: Olivier Martinez, Romane Bohringer, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Bigas Luna. Written by Luna, Cuca Canals and Jean-Louis Benoit, based on Didier Decoin's novel. Produced by Yves Marmion and Daniel Toscan du Plantier. Released by the Samuel Goldwyn Co.

Running time: One hour, 36 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills; Avant Garde, Hermosa Beach.

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars.

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Photo

Photo: The meeting of a foundry worker (Olivier Martinez) and a chambermaid (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) sets off an unusual chain of events related to the doomed Titanic in ``The Chambermaid.''