Francois Ozon

[theapportioner]

Who likes???

[Miss Modular]

*raises hand*

Me!!!





I just saw Water Drops on Burning Rocks, which isn't his best film, but it's worth checking out. His films have waiting lists at Netflix.

[theapportioner]

I haven't seen either of those two yet (believe me I've looked around), so I might have to give in and get a Netflix account. "Under the Sand" and "See the Sea" were impressive.

[Miss Modular]

Those are the two movies I have yet to see, along with Sitcom.

The only one of his movies I wasn't really impressed with was Criminal Lovers, which was actually the first film of his that I saw. Not really a bad movie, just not representative of his work. The ones you mentioned are at the top of my Netflix Queue, as well as his shorts collection X2000.

[Miss Modular]

I watched Under The Sand this afternoon. Terriffic!

[theapportioner]

I saw "Swimming Pool" last night. Hadn't realized it is out in theatres -- no wonder I couldn't find it at the video rental stores!

Have you read Arthur Lazare's review of the film on culturevulture.net? I'd like to know what you think of it. Maybe you should read it first, before reading my thoughts.

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This movie clashes Ozon's two distinct filmmaking tones -- Sarah Morton, in the beginning, is portrayed with a brutally honest, realistic, subtle mood. This is the tone of "Under the Sand". Julie on the other hand is like Ozon's "See the Sea" - a very stylized, sexy picture. The two distinct styles are a play on what Ozon regards as a thin line between truth and fiction, honesty and, well, illusion I guess. One is led to think that Sarah's mood is the "honest" one and Julie's is the "false" one and the ending destroys this impression. The movie does become plot driven later on, yes, and though I feel it does get weaker, on the whole I feel this shift from character study to plot is appropriate. I interpreted the ending of the film to be the complete marriage of reality and fantasy. In retrospect it was there from the beginning, but could not be fully realized until it shifts to plot. The tension between reality and fantasy is resolved, as Sarah befriends Julie, and once that happens the story (novel) can really begin as fantasy and reality merge.

So I disagree with Lazare that the ending was a total mistake -- I think the idea makes sense given what the director was trying to do. It could've been done better, and not so cliched I suppose, but oh well. Ozon is still a master when it comes to creating texture and mood. Sophia Coppola, while not a slouch, could still learn a lesson or two from his output.

Edit: Perhaps one could argue that the cliched ending is a nod to the cliche of murder mystery novels?

[theapportioner]

bumpity bump

[Miss Modular]

Hmm. I disagreed with the review. I liked the mingling of Fantasy and Reality, and thought the ending made the movie. I thought it was an insightful look at how a writer can come to completely inhabit the world of their characters, and thus become completely tranformed by their work. I was baffled by the ending at first, but after I got to thinking about what happened up to that point, it made sense. If nothing else, I'm hoping this is the start of a wonderful career for Ludivine Sagnier. It would nice a girl in the movies who's sexy and talented, or at least charismatic.

Haven't seen Lost In Translation yet, but frankly, Mr. Ozon and Ms. Coppola are two of the most--if not the most--exciting filmmakers working right now, IMO.

[Miss Modular]

Well, I saw Sitcom tonight. It was released on DVD today, and I got it via Netflix.

I would recommend it even to people who aren't familiar to Ozon's work; it reminded me of John Waters' films. Imagine if Waters directed Luis Bunuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and you have Sitcom.

This movie was what American Beauty wanted to be, but wasn't. An offbeat film about a dysfunctional family that's disturbing, but doesn't take itself too seriously. (Sorry for the soundbites.) I've seen all his films now, so I can go to bed a happy girl.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

"This movie was what American Beauty wanted to be, but wasn't. "

I would say American Beauty wanted to be Happiness.