Francois Ozon once again demonstrates his confidence in his intensely brilliant story-telling abilities, creating a downright unsettling atmosphere where you, as the viewer, aren't sure what is going to happen but you sense it's not going to end well. And then afterwards, you are left thinking about what you've seen and realizing that the 'clues' were there all along, some subtle and some not-so-subtle.
I would say this movie is basically a cautionary tale, about what can happen to one who is carelessly focused on one's own needs, who doesn't pick up on what is going on in a potentially dangerous situation. -=- SPOILER ALERT -=- The mother has all the signals that something is very wrong with the backpacker, particularly when she sneaks into her tent and finds the extremely disturbing book with her insane scribblings and drawings, but she is so consumed by her OWN needs that she overlooks these signals. Big mistake.
I would say this movie is basically a cautionary tale, about what can happen to one who is carelessly focused on one's own needs, who doesn't pick up on what is going on in a potentially dangerous situation. -=- SPOILER ALERT -=- The mother has all the signals that something is very wrong with the backpacker, particularly when she sneaks into her tent and finds the extremely disturbing book with her insane scribblings and drawings, but she is so consumed by her OWN needs that she overlooks these signals. Big mistake.