Stars: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Anton von Lucke | Written by François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo | Directed by François Ozon
A remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 film Broken Lullaby, itself based on a stage play, Frantz is the latest character-based drama from prolific French director François Ozon. Deeply melancholy and very moving, it’s a proper old school tearjerker, and more accessible than its austere monochrome aesthetic might imply.
1919. Widowed Anna (Paula Beer) lives in Quedlinberg with the Hoffmeisters, the parents of her late husband, Frantz, who was killed in battle the previous year. One day Anna visits Frantz’s grave and finds fresh flowers. The flowers were laid by a visiting Frenchman named Adrien (Pierre Niney). He says he knew Frantz.
The Hoffmeisters tentatively welcome Adrien into their home. Mrs Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber) and Anna are keen to establish a posthumous emotional connection with Frantz via Adrien.
A remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 film Broken Lullaby, itself based on a stage play, Frantz is the latest character-based drama from prolific French director François Ozon. Deeply melancholy and very moving, it’s a proper old school tearjerker, and more accessible than its austere monochrome aesthetic might imply.
1919. Widowed Anna (Paula Beer) lives in Quedlinberg with the Hoffmeisters, the parents of her late husband, Frantz, who was killed in battle the previous year. One day Anna visits Frantz’s grave and finds fresh flowers. The flowers were laid by a visiting Frenchman named Adrien (Pierre Niney). He says he knew Frantz.
The Hoffmeisters tentatively welcome Adrien into their home. Mrs Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber) and Anna are keen to establish a posthumous emotional connection with Frantz via Adrien.
- 7/20/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail. Here's Daniel Walber on Frantz, newly available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Sometimes gimmicks work. François Ozon’s Frantz is built up from single stylistic convention, flipped on its head. It’s a black and white drama of Europe in the wake of World War One, but its flashbacks are in color. It’s quite striking, a remarkable collaboration between cinematographer Pascal Marti, production designer Michel Barthélemy and art director Susanne Abel. Even the soggy trenches are more vibrant than the sober landscape of the Armistice.
Frantz begins in 1919, in the small German town of Quedlinburg. Anna (Paula Beer) mourns her fiancé, Frantz, taken from her by the war. She lives with his parents, Hans (Ernst Stötzner) and Magda Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber). Their gloomy lives are shaken by the arrival of a Frenchman,...
Sometimes gimmicks work. François Ozon’s Frantz is built up from single stylistic convention, flipped on its head. It’s a black and white drama of Europe in the wake of World War One, but its flashbacks are in color. It’s quite striking, a remarkable collaboration between cinematographer Pascal Marti, production designer Michel Barthélemy and art director Susanne Abel. Even the soggy trenches are more vibrant than the sober landscape of the Armistice.
Frantz begins in 1919, in the small German town of Quedlinburg. Anna (Paula Beer) mourns her fiancé, Frantz, taken from her by the war. She lives with his parents, Hans (Ernst Stötzner) and Magda Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber). Their gloomy lives are shaken by the arrival of a Frenchman,...
- 6/19/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Author: Stefan Pape
There are few filmmakers working today quite as consistent as French auteur Francois Ozon and his latest, Frantz, is emblematic of this notion. Remaining faithful to his own sensibilities as a storyteller, each passing endeavour remains unique of its own accord, and where previous offerings such as In the House and The New Girlfriend thrived in their light and witty tendencies, Frantz represents a far more solemn, dramatic affair, highlighting the director’s noteworthy range.
Set during the aftermath of the First World War, we meet German widow Anna (Paula Beer), grieving the loss of her fiancé Frantz, living in the residency of his parents Hans (Ernst Stotzner) and Magda Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber). One morning when laying flowers on his deceased partner’s grave, she notices an elusive stranger doing the same, the Frenchman Adrien Rivoire (Pierre Niney). Intrigued as to what his connection could’ve been with Frantz,...
There are few filmmakers working today quite as consistent as French auteur Francois Ozon and his latest, Frantz, is emblematic of this notion. Remaining faithful to his own sensibilities as a storyteller, each passing endeavour remains unique of its own accord, and where previous offerings such as In the House and The New Girlfriend thrived in their light and witty tendencies, Frantz represents a far more solemn, dramatic affair, highlighting the director’s noteworthy range.
Set during the aftermath of the First World War, we meet German widow Anna (Paula Beer), grieving the loss of her fiancé Frantz, living in the residency of his parents Hans (Ernst Stotzner) and Magda Hoffmeister (Marie Gruber). One morning when laying flowers on his deceased partner’s grave, she notices an elusive stranger doing the same, the Frenchman Adrien Rivoire (Pierre Niney). Intrigued as to what his connection could’ve been with Frantz,...
- 5/8/2017
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Pierre Niney as Adrien and Paula Beer as Anna, in Frantz. Photo by Jean-Claude Moireau – Foz © Courtesy of Music Box Films
The French drama Frantz is film about secrets, lies, mourning and the aftermath of World War I rather than the romantic period film is might at first glance appear to be. Set shortly after what was known then as the Great War, and also known as the war of the Lost Generation, for how it virtually wiped out a whole generation of young men and, ironically, as the War to End All Wars, this drama explores the personal costs of war.
As we mark the hundredth anniversary of World War I, the time is right for a film about the survivors of that devastating conflict. The first war fought with modern weapons, such as missiles, tanks and machine guns, and a war fought for years in trenches, its horrendous...
The French drama Frantz is film about secrets, lies, mourning and the aftermath of World War I rather than the romantic period film is might at first glance appear to be. Set shortly after what was known then as the Great War, and also known as the war of the Lost Generation, for how it virtually wiped out a whole generation of young men and, ironically, as the War to End All Wars, this drama explores the personal costs of war.
As we mark the hundredth anniversary of World War I, the time is right for a film about the survivors of that devastating conflict. The first war fought with modern weapons, such as missiles, tanks and machine guns, and a war fought for years in trenches, its horrendous...
- 4/7/2017
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's a rare beauty, this odd-duck of a period piece from the great French director François Ozon (Under the Sand, 8 Women, Swimming Pool). Frantz starts out as a remake of the 1932 film Broken Lullaby by Ernst Lubitsch, a maestro whose work only a fool would mess with. But here's Ozon doing just that, taking the second half of the film down a different path that's sure to piss of purists. The filmmaker is walking a creative tightrope. How do you resist that? My advice is: don't. There are a few fits and starts,...
- 3/16/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out. And if you're into box office and how movies might do, come play some of the box office games at EZ1 Productions including their new Pick 5 game!
This Past Weekend:
As expected, Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island won the weekend, and honestly, the Weekend Warrior’s original prediction of $61.6 million was pretty darn close to the movie’s opening weekend which ended up at $61 million. (Unfortunately, I chickened out on Thursday because my prediction was so much higher than all others and lowered it to $58 million, which was Still closer to than every other prediction last weekend.) Also, as expected (at least by me), Hugh Jackman’s Logan took a 2nd weekend tumble as has been the case with most X-Men movies,...
This Past Weekend:
As expected, Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island won the weekend, and honestly, the Weekend Warrior’s original prediction of $61.6 million was pretty darn close to the movie’s opening weekend which ended up at $61 million. (Unfortunately, I chickened out on Thursday because my prediction was so much higher than all others and lowered it to $58 million, which was Still closer to than every other prediction last weekend.) Also, as expected (at least by me), Hugh Jackman’s Logan took a 2nd weekend tumble as has been the case with most X-Men movies,...
- 3/15/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Frantz Music Box Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Showbiz Grade: A- Director: François Ozon Written by: François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo, inspired by Ernst Lubitsch’s film “Broken Lullaby” Cast: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stoetzner Marie Gruber Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 2/23/17 Opens: March 15, 2017 Not surprisingly, war does something to both the people […]
The post Frantz Movie Review: The performances come across as utterly authentic appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Frantz Movie Review: The performances come across as utterly authentic appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 2/28/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"What would the truth bring?" "Only more pain." Music Box Films has released a new official Us trailer for the indie film Frantz, the latest film from prolific French director François Ozon. This played at the Venice and Telluride Film Festival last fall to very positive reviews, and it also played at the Sundance Film Festival this January. Frantz is set after Wwi, but before WWII, in Germany with a story about two people who connect after the first Great War. French actor Pierre Niney, star of the biopic Yves Saint Laurent, plays the French man who comes to a small German town and places flowers on the grave of a deceased man named Frantz. There he meets Frantz's widow Anna, played by German actress Paula Beer. Also starring Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Johann von Bülow, Anton von Lucke & Cyrielle Clair. See below. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Francois Ozon's Frantz,...
- 2/22/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Nathaniel R reporting from Tiff
Frantz is dead when Frantz begins though everyone who knew him keeps willing him back to life through memories and the general refusal to let go. The movie has a terrifically simple plot generating event which reaps bountiful plot threads and emotions: In 1919 Germany, just after the first World War, a young girl named Anna (Paula Beer, Venice Winner Best Young Actor) repeatedly encounters a Frenchman named Adrien (Pierre Niney) while visiting her dead fiancee Frantz's (Anton von Lucke) grave. Then he comes knocking at her door. Why is he there? What does he want with Anna and Frantz parents? At first she and Frantz's parents (Ernst Stötzner and Marie Gruber, both superb) are wary about him since the wounds between the countries are still fresh. Quickly they warm to him though, much to their town's disapproval, when they realize that he knew...
Frantz is dead when Frantz begins though everyone who knew him keeps willing him back to life through memories and the general refusal to let go. The movie has a terrifically simple plot generating event which reaps bountiful plot threads and emotions: In 1919 Germany, just after the first World War, a young girl named Anna (Paula Beer, Venice Winner Best Young Actor) repeatedly encounters a Frenchman named Adrien (Pierre Niney) while visiting her dead fiancee Frantz's (Anton von Lucke) grave. Then he comes knocking at her door. Why is he there? What does he want with Anna and Frantz parents? At first she and Frantz's parents (Ernst Stötzner and Marie Gruber, both superb) are wary about him since the wounds between the countries are still fresh. Quickly they warm to him though, much to their town's disapproval, when they realize that he knew...
- 9/16/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
★★☆☆☆ Festival regular François Ozon returns with Frantz, a slick inter-war melodrama that promises more than it ultimately delivers. Paula Beer plays Anna, a young Fräulein grieving for her fiancé Frantz (Anton von Lucke). Apparently an orphan, Anna lives with Frantz's parents, the town physician Dr. Hans Hoffmeister (Ernst Stötzner) and Magda (Marie Gruber). Bothered by insistent suitor and conveniently slimy German nationalist Kreutz (Johann von Bülow), Anna's only solace is her visits to the graveyard. Here she discovers that a Frenchman, Adrien (Pierre Niney), has also been visiting Frantz's grave.
- 9/5/2016
- by CineVue
- CineVue
One can accuse François Ozon of many things, but lack of ideas isn’t one of them. The prolific French auteur is a constant presence at A-list film festivals since the late 90’s and has proved to be a true writer’s director, with his films often characterized by a meticulous construction and the vigorous thought process that goes on behind it. His latest, a remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s Broken Lullaby with a twist, juxtaposes themes of grief, guilt, forgiveness, and the deceptive, self-inventive qualities of narrative against the backdrop of post-wwi Franco-German tensions. It’s a heady hall of mirrors that keeps revealing, or at least suggesting new depths and angles. But while this kind of intense creative exercise no doubt deserves respect, ultimately one has the uneasy sense that things don’t really add up.
The movie begins as we meet Anna (Paula Beer) in the German town of Quedlinburg,...
The movie begins as we meet Anna (Paula Beer) in the German town of Quedlinburg,...
- 9/4/2016
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
Title: Frantz Director: François Ozon Starring: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Johann Von Bülow, Anton Von Lucke. François Ozon’s ‘Frantz’ will take you by surprise. It is far from banal. The relationships that are established throughout the story are nuanced with the complications, the regrets and the unrequitedness of reality. The story is set in a small German town after World War I, where Anna (Paula Beer) mourns daily at the grave of her fiancé Frantz (Anton Von Lucke), killed in battle in France. One day a young Frenchman, Adrien (Pierre Niney), also lays flowers at the grave. His presence so soon after the German defeat ignites [ Read More ]
The post Frantz Movie Review (Venice Film Festival 2016) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Frantz Movie Review (Venice Film Festival 2016) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 9/3/2016
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
"Jerichow" is helmed and written by Christian Petzold, an multiple award-winning director. His credits include 2003's "Wolfsburg," Gespenster of 2005 and "Yella," a winner of the Fermina-Film-Prize and the Silver Berlin Bear awards at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. "Jerichow," a nominee of the Golden Lion Award at last year's Venice Film Festival, stars Benno Fürmann, Nina Hoss, Hilmi Sözer, André M. Hennicke, Claudia Geisler, Marie Gruber and Knut Berger. The film sees release release at the Film Forum in New York City as well as the Laemble in Los Angeles on May 15th. See more images About the film: Jerichow, a small town in northeastern Germany, an impoverished region where few jobs are to be had, an area of crisscrossing highways, deep forests, and cliffs that fall sharply into the sea, is the setting for an unfolding drama of three people who find themselves at a fortuitous crossroads. Following his mother’s death,...
- 5/6/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
"Jerichow" is helmed and written by Christian Petzold, an multiple award-winning director. His credits include 2003's "Wolfsburg," Gespenster of 2005 and "Yella," a winner of the Fermina-Film-Prize and the Silver Berlin Bear awards at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. "Jerichow," a nominee of the Golden Lion Award at last year's Venice Film Festival, stars Benno Fürmann, Nina Hoss, Hilmi Sözer, André M. Hennicke, Claudia Geisler, Marie Gruber and Knut Berger. The film sees release release at the Film Forum in New York City as well as the Laemble in Los Angeles on May 15th.
- 5/6/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
"Jerichow" is helmed and written by Christian Petzold, an multiple award-winning director. His credits include 2003's "Wolfsburg," Gespenster of 2005 and "Yella," a winner of the Fermina-Film-Prize and the Silver Berlin Bear awards at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. "Jerichow," a nominee of the Golden Lion Award at last year's Venice Film Festival, stars Benno Fürmann, Nina Hoss, Hilmi Sözer, André M. Hennicke, Claudia Geisler, Marie Gruber and Knut Berger. The film sees release release at the Film Forum in New York City as well as the Laemble in Los Angeles on May 15th.
- 5/6/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Perspekstive Deutsches Kino
BERLIN -- Pepi Planitzer's "All Gone" is a shaggy tale of three down-and-out cockeyed optimists who find peace and harmony against the odds. Its engaging performances and wry humor could send it traveling successfully beyond German-language territories, and English-language remake potential is considerable.
Eberhard Kirchberg plays Hagen, a mentally challenged but affable giant who is released from a home and put on a train to be taken care of by his only relative. Getting off at the wrong stop, Hagen comes across a broken-down car in which a drunken man named Dohmuhl (Milan Peschel) sits swearing in frustration. Eyeing the situation, Hagen proceeds to push the car for five kilometers to the man's cluttered home, where he is invited in for a drink and some food.
Hagen decides that Dohmuhl must be his uncle, and so settles in with his sole possession: a makeshift dollhouse occupied by his pet rat. Dohmuhl is an agreeable type and decides to help his addled visitor while attempting find out who he is and where he belongs. He has his own troubles, having inherited a failing scaffold business and an unwanted former Soviet military base from his incompetent businessman father.
The only bright spot is that a woman he finds very attractive, Ina (Marie Gruber), has returned to live upstairs, having been paroled from penitentiary.
Hagen listens as his host explains that everything he had is all gone, and in a spontaneous gesture of sympathy he puts his rat in the toilet and demonstrates his recently learned skill at using the flush. It says much about how Planitzer views his doughty characters that a little later he shows the rodent emerging from the sewer, having not suffered too greatly from the experience.
They are characters to root for, and Planitzer tells their story without undue sentiment, aided greatly by strong performances by the leads and good work from his crew, especially cinematographer Uwe Mann and composer Jorg Huke.
BERLIN -- Pepi Planitzer's "All Gone" is a shaggy tale of three down-and-out cockeyed optimists who find peace and harmony against the odds. Its engaging performances and wry humor could send it traveling successfully beyond German-language territories, and English-language remake potential is considerable.
Eberhard Kirchberg plays Hagen, a mentally challenged but affable giant who is released from a home and put on a train to be taken care of by his only relative. Getting off at the wrong stop, Hagen comes across a broken-down car in which a drunken man named Dohmuhl (Milan Peschel) sits swearing in frustration. Eyeing the situation, Hagen proceeds to push the car for five kilometers to the man's cluttered home, where he is invited in for a drink and some food.
Hagen decides that Dohmuhl must be his uncle, and so settles in with his sole possession: a makeshift dollhouse occupied by his pet rat. Dohmuhl is an agreeable type and decides to help his addled visitor while attempting find out who he is and where he belongs. He has his own troubles, having inherited a failing scaffold business and an unwanted former Soviet military base from his incompetent businessman father.
The only bright spot is that a woman he finds very attractive, Ina (Marie Gruber), has returned to live upstairs, having been paroled from penitentiary.
Hagen listens as his host explains that everything he had is all gone, and in a spontaneous gesture of sympathy he puts his rat in the toilet and demonstrates his recently learned skill at using the flush. It says much about how Planitzer views his doughty characters that a little later he shows the rodent emerging from the sewer, having not suffered too greatly from the experience.
They are characters to root for, and Planitzer tells their story without undue sentiment, aided greatly by strong performances by the leads and good work from his crew, especially cinematographer Uwe Mann and composer Jorg Huke.
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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