I stumbled upon this great little movie somewhat randomly (though perhaps it was fate) while scanning the DVD section at my library for a different film that I wanted to watch. The title caught my eye enough to make me read the back of the box. I had heard of the director, Francois Ozon, but had never seen any of his films. Reading the description, this early film of his sounded kind of interesting, but wasn't exactly what I was looking for that day, and I continued to search for the film I had come for. I can't even remember what movie I'd been looking for, but they didn't have it and I'm glad they didn't, because if they had I may very well have never gotten to experience See the Sea.
One reviewer called the film "Profoundly Unsettling," words which are proudly and prominently displayed in bold red on the cover of the DVD, and one of the reasons why I decided to still check it out despite the lukewarm reviews I pulled up on my smartphone. And I'm very glad I did.
The story is relatively straightforward and focuses on a lonely housewife, Sasha, who is home alone with her infant daughter while her husband is away on business. Early in the film, Sasha allows a strange female drifter to pitch a tent in her yard. She tries to be friends with the drifter. From the very first moment they meet, we get the feeling that something very strange is going to happen.
Sasha doesn't know it, but we as the viewers are able to tell that only bad can come from this situation. We don't know exactly what will occur, but Ozon lets us know through his masterful use of images and sounds that only bad can come. This feeling leaves us on the edge of our seat, eagerly awaiting the payoff. It's pure suspense and it's a heck of a lot of fun.
In one memorable scene towards the beginning of the film, Sasha invites the drifter in for dinner. Sasha goes out of her way to be hospitable and kind, but the drifter responds with rudeness and apathy, showing no interest as her hostess tells her a story and then licking her plate clean in a disgusting manner that would be funny if it wasn't so strange.
From the very first frames of the film, even while all we see is white credits over black, everything about it is tonally perfect. First we hear the haunting music of a piano and then we see the tide coming in at a lonely, secluded beach. We see a mother awakened by her crying toddler. She fixes her a bottle. It feels like real life, but it's not.
Then, for the next fifty minutes, the images and the sounds and the story and the subtle nuances of the characters gradually build and crescendo into an awesome climax that will leave you smiling as the credits roll. On second thought, you may be left gasping instead of smiling, but you will almost certainly be thinking about this one for a long time after it's over.
The story moves quickly and slowly both at once and it flows perfectly. The structure is fairly unique, like a cross between a short film and a feature, and we don't get much backstory, but we get all we need. And with only a couple of lead characters it is easy to begin to care about them, despite their many flaws, even in the relatively short time we spend with them. It is easy to focus on the story and get lost in it to the point that you can forget you're watching a movie.
The acting and dialogue are unmatched and the performances are totally convincing and feel real. This is aided by the fact that the actors aren't well known and I've never seen them in anything else, so their characters are more believable. I wish more films would do precisely that: use good, unknown actors instead of focusing on big names that we've already seen playing essentially the same part a hundred times and gotten sick of.
The actress who plays the drifter is particularly perfect in her role. Based on what I've read, I believe that the role was written specifically for her, and she fleshes it out exquisitely on the screen. I don't think I have ever seen a more perfectly cast role. I enjoyed watching her so much that I almost want to say that the actress should appear in more films, but that would only take the magic out of the performance.
The film is indeed profoundly unsettling, just as it sets out to be, and it is an incredible experience. At fifty-two minutes, it is the perfect length for the story it tells. There's nothing added to pad out the running time. Yet it still feels like a full-length film, because the entire story is there. Toward the end of the film, the appearance of a single teardrop on a woman's face, despite being visible for only a few seconds, is able to tell us so much. And while it may raise a few questions as well, it still tells us everything we need to know.
I didn't know quite what to expect when I popped this one into the DVD player, but I ended up loving it from the very beginning and continued to love what I saw every step of the way. It just kept getting better and better right up until the credits rolled and left me sitting there, alone in my living room, knowing that I had just seen one of the best films ever made.
One reviewer called the film "Profoundly Unsettling," words which are proudly and prominently displayed in bold red on the cover of the DVD, and one of the reasons why I decided to still check it out despite the lukewarm reviews I pulled up on my smartphone. And I'm very glad I did.
The story is relatively straightforward and focuses on a lonely housewife, Sasha, who is home alone with her infant daughter while her husband is away on business. Early in the film, Sasha allows a strange female drifter to pitch a tent in her yard. She tries to be friends with the drifter. From the very first moment they meet, we get the feeling that something very strange is going to happen.
Sasha doesn't know it, but we as the viewers are able to tell that only bad can come from this situation. We don't know exactly what will occur, but Ozon lets us know through his masterful use of images and sounds that only bad can come. This feeling leaves us on the edge of our seat, eagerly awaiting the payoff. It's pure suspense and it's a heck of a lot of fun.
In one memorable scene towards the beginning of the film, Sasha invites the drifter in for dinner. Sasha goes out of her way to be hospitable and kind, but the drifter responds with rudeness and apathy, showing no interest as her hostess tells her a story and then licking her plate clean in a disgusting manner that would be funny if it wasn't so strange.
From the very first frames of the film, even while all we see is white credits over black, everything about it is tonally perfect. First we hear the haunting music of a piano and then we see the tide coming in at a lonely, secluded beach. We see a mother awakened by her crying toddler. She fixes her a bottle. It feels like real life, but it's not.
Then, for the next fifty minutes, the images and the sounds and the story and the subtle nuances of the characters gradually build and crescendo into an awesome climax that will leave you smiling as the credits roll. On second thought, you may be left gasping instead of smiling, but you will almost certainly be thinking about this one for a long time after it's over.
The story moves quickly and slowly both at once and it flows perfectly. The structure is fairly unique, like a cross between a short film and a feature, and we don't get much backstory, but we get all we need. And with only a couple of lead characters it is easy to begin to care about them, despite their many flaws, even in the relatively short time we spend with them. It is easy to focus on the story and get lost in it to the point that you can forget you're watching a movie.
The acting and dialogue are unmatched and the performances are totally convincing and feel real. This is aided by the fact that the actors aren't well known and I've never seen them in anything else, so their characters are more believable. I wish more films would do precisely that: use good, unknown actors instead of focusing on big names that we've already seen playing essentially the same part a hundred times and gotten sick of.
The actress who plays the drifter is particularly perfect in her role. Based on what I've read, I believe that the role was written specifically for her, and she fleshes it out exquisitely on the screen. I don't think I have ever seen a more perfectly cast role. I enjoyed watching her so much that I almost want to say that the actress should appear in more films, but that would only take the magic out of the performance.
The film is indeed profoundly unsettling, just as it sets out to be, and it is an incredible experience. At fifty-two minutes, it is the perfect length for the story it tells. There's nothing added to pad out the running time. Yet it still feels like a full-length film, because the entire story is there. Toward the end of the film, the appearance of a single teardrop on a woman's face, despite being visible for only a few seconds, is able to tell us so much. And while it may raise a few questions as well, it still tells us everything we need to know.
I didn't know quite what to expect when I popped this one into the DVD player, but I ended up loving it from the very beginning and continued to love what I saw every step of the way. It just kept getting better and better right up until the credits rolled and left me sitting there, alone in my living room, knowing that I had just seen one of the best films ever made.