There's hardly anything more stately than a fabulous residence photographed by a great architectural photographer. Think of Julius Schulman's photographs of the Kaufmann Desert House designed by Richard Neutra in Palm Springs; or Todd Eberle's shots of Mitch Glazer & Kelly Lynch's equally grand house in the Hollywood Hills, designed by John Lautner.

Anyone who enviously pours over the "Home" section of the New York Times, and Dwell magazine, knows in their hearts that domestic perfection on this order is for others, not themselves. And everyone who has let their domestic helpers go to save some money knows for sure that the photographs that grace those pages are set up, like film stills, to provoke longing and just enough self-loathing to bring on a round of shopping and decorating.

If this sums up your stance on the home front, a series of movies by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine that opened last night at Storefront for Art and Architecture will confirm your position and calm your anxieties. One in particular, Koolhaas Houselife, is about the residence designed by the great Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas for the family of the publisher Jean-Francoise Limone, in Bordeaux, France. Rarely seen here, and hard to find on DVD, the short film has become a cult classic, especially among students of architecture.

Film stills from Koolhaas Houselife, now showing at Storefront for Art & Architectures.

The house has been designed with technological innovations that range from a room-size platform that serves as a three-story elevator to enabled the owner, confined to a wheelchair, to circulate unimpeded throughout the house. As described by architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, The building is set into a hill with panoramic views of the Bordeaux countryside and the Garonne River. Glass walls open to the spectacular vista, eliminating any sense of enclosure or confinement. The structural engineering - a cantilevered slab anchored to the ground by an enormous beam - is as startlingly unconventional as the plan.

The film, made by the owner's daughters, who grew up there, shows what it is really like to live in an architectural treasure. It follows the daily routine of the housekeeper, Guadeloupe Acedo, a self-styled domestic engineer who is adept at finding just the right workaround to manage the innovations that elevate this building to an art form. Containing leaks that often becomes torrents; hauling a vacuum cleaner up a spiral stair whose treads are no wider than her footprint; opening a door that is operated - or not - by a joystick rather than a key - these are some of the acrobatics that never come into play in glossy magazine layouts.

One of the film's highlights is an interview with the architect, who basically condemns criticism of "post occupancy" dysfunction as a form of ignorance. With charming candor, the film offers a reality check to this high minded assessment as it chronicles Guadelupe Acedo's battle with a house that fights her at every turn.

Living Architures: Four Films by Ila Beka and Louise Limoine, on view through Feburary 26^th at Storefront for Art and Architecture. 97 Kenmare Street, just east of Centre Street, New York, NY. 212.431.5795. Winter hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm.