Simple story: Husband goes missing after a swim on holiday and his wife is in denial about the situation. The idea here is to tell the story by showing only the outward reactions of all involved. Ozon hereby creates a mystery (is he really dead?, was it a suicide?) but the over-explanatory character spoils all the fun. The walk in the woods, his face before the swim already tell everything, but if that's not enough Virgina Woolf is thrown in (if you dislike reading check out The Hours).
So the rest of the movie we rely on the acting, which is average but not that interesting. We have the almost obligatory love scenes, redundant fantasies and much talk about nothing. Everything is mildly interesting. But one scene stands out: that between Suzanne (Andrée Tainsy, who just passed away) and Marie (Rampling). Andrée Tainsy mixes so many facial emotions in that scene it makes the whole movie worth watching.
Ozon is a very traditional filmmaker who seems to strike a chord with his French audience. But he could have lived thirty years ago and made the same movie. It's almost as if he is in denial of the great French film history. Luckily we still have Jeunet, Besson and a lot of new talent to save the day for the French.
So the rest of the movie we rely on the acting, which is average but not that interesting. We have the almost obligatory love scenes, redundant fantasies and much talk about nothing. Everything is mildly interesting. But one scene stands out: that between Suzanne (Andrée Tainsy, who just passed away) and Marie (Rampling). Andrée Tainsy mixes so many facial emotions in that scene it makes the whole movie worth watching.
Ozon is a very traditional filmmaker who seems to strike a chord with his French audience. But he could have lived thirty years ago and made the same movie. It's almost as if he is in denial of the great French film history. Luckily we still have Jeunet, Besson and a lot of new talent to save the day for the French.