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Book: François Ozon
Release date: 25th April 2011
Author: Thibaut Schilt
Publisher: University Of Illinois Press
In François Ozon, Thibaut Schilt zooms in on the career to date of the famous French director of the same name, discussing his early life and family background, his qualifications and motivations, and analysing Ozon’s life work. From the short films of his early career as well as the internationally acclaimed 8 femmes and Sous le Sable, Schilt focuses on the many themes of this controversial director’s portfolio, projects such as homosexuality, adultery, murder, mortality and the fantastical.
Starting with Ozon’s early life, Schilt discusses the young director’s commandeering of his father’s camera and use of his family to make early films such as Photo de Famille. He also describes how Ozon mostly deals with taboos and “perversions” in his early career, the director later pointing out in his interview that he started out aggressively with something to prove.
Schilt then chronologically works through Ozon’s films up to the director’s current project, Pontiche. He discusses each of the films’ main themes, plot line and critical reaction; both negative and positive, switching between topics quickly with much thematic discussion. Schilt talks of the actors used, as well as camera technique and the use of music. Ozon’s cinephilia and the tributes to other films and directors through his own direction are also highlighted…
The interconnectedness of these themes is emphasised by the way Schilt jumps between each of the director’s films in each section as each theme is discussed, which Schilt divides into groups of roughly three in each section of the chapters. This can be quite confusing as you adapt to Schilt’s style of writing, as not much time is spent on each point before he moves back and forth between the themes under analysis. The chapters are quite long and Schilt often has a meandering prose.
The book is enthusiastically written and well referenced, and Schilt’s use of so many sources is admirable. Direct citations from screenplay, interviews with the director and quotes from the actors, including their views on their roles and the films in question are all used. Schilt also ensures each of his points are followed with the main critical view points published on each topic, including quotations from critics, which may not back up his own opinion, ensuring a balanced view.
Due to the heavy plot description given on each film, this is best read after having already watched Ozon’s work. Schilt only just holds back on some of the cinematic twists, or denouements (his preferred term). Schilt is very knowledgeable on cinematic theory, and the skills he has gained in the teaching profession are put to good use with his discussion of Ozon’s influences, such as auteur theory, and his contribution to New Wave cinema. This discussion comes across as well informed and easy to absorb, which is enjoyable to read.
Schilt writes intelligently and has clearly aimed to compose a well-researched biographical book on a director who he admires. Due to his obvious passion for Ozon’s work, and an almost eagerness to fit in the many opinions he has on the director, the book can seem cluttered and difficult to follow. At times, Schilt says, “as I have already discussed,” and this can seem the only link back to a point that was discussed but never summarised. This can come across as frustrating; meriting a pause in reading to catch up with the writer and let his points sink in. His passion has perhaps led to a haphazard approach, although it does succeed in drawing you back to the book after a brief respite, and certainly inspires to re-watch Ozon’s films with Schilt’s viewpoint now in mind.
By the point of the discussion of Sous le Sable, 8 Femmes and Swimming Pool, the text feels more coherent, however, perhaps this is just the length of time taken to accustom to the writer’s style, and may vary depending on the reader’s tastes. Shilt’s discussion of the ‘Lost In Translation’ idea (p.119) is interesting and utilizes the professor’s obvious language skills as he points out how Gouttes D’eau sure Pierres Brûlantes may have different significance, depending on whether the viewer is coming to the film in Japan, Germany or France.
Schilt increases his use of the personal tense as the book progresses, and his ideas come across as more developed, leaving more of an impression of his own views rather than a summary of the critical standpoint. This adds a welcome new dimension to what up to this point could have passed for more of a documentation of fact rather than a subjective analysis.
The lack of a final summary from Schilt means the ending of the book is quite abrupt. The fact you have come to the end comes as a shock, however, having the director’s interview at the end is perhaps a cunning move. It enables the reader to read the interview with Ozon after having heard submission of so many thematic standpoints, now hearing directly from the horses’ mouth what Ozon’s intentions are. Schilt’s lack of commentary on this interview (despite extracts being used throughout the book itself) suggests Schilt’s wish to remain impartial, and having already pointed out how Ozon’s films often allow the viewer to come to their own conclusion and take different aspects from each time they watch his work, perhaps Schilt has aimed to offer the reader the same opportunity, leaving you to ponder on the mass of information he has provided.
This book would be ideal for a fan of Ozon who has enjoyed the director’s films, looking for a more in depth view of how the films were received internationally, and wishing to find out more about the lesser known aspects of Ozon’s career and his motivations. The interview is invaluable in providing an insight into the director and confirms that Shilt has drawn the correct conclusions in watching the films as the director agrees with many of Schilt’s points of view on cinephilia, and wanting to offer insight into difficult subjects such as same-sex relationships, patricide and mortality. Although Schilt’s advanced knowledge leads to a complex reading experience, his enthusiasm is passed to the reader, and successfully educates on the life of a fascinating man. AT
Film: Le Refuge
Release date: 8th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Isabelle Carré, Louis-Ronan Choisy, Pierre Louis-Calixte, Melvil Poupaud, Claire Vernet
Genre: Drama
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: DVD
Country: France
French director François Ozon steers away from the satirical roots which often characterise his work and explores a number of more serious themes, namely life after the death of a loved one. Through the subtle use of music, and leaving the most poignant messages unsaid, Ozon conjures a film with a melancholic heart.
Isabelle Carré, who was actually pregnant during filming, stars as Mousse, who lives in the comfort of an apartment in Paris with her boyfriend Louis. They live in something of a drug-fuelled bliss - that is until Louis overdoses and dies, still at the foetal stage of the film. Having discovered in the days that follow that she is pregnant, Mousse suffers the wrath of Louis’ mother who insists that she have an abortion, and, as a result, Mousse decides to leave Paris for a more isolated existence.
The dull greys of the city give way to the brilliant colours of the beach house, where the mournful Mousse has settled down for the last six months. Now very heavily pregnant, Mousse welcomes a visitor in the way of Louis’ homosexual brother Paul.
As both Mousse and Paul attempt to cope with their grief, a number of circumstances present themselves, affecting their respective states of mind and their relationship...
Although Ozon could feasibly have continued as he starts Le Refuge, exploring the drugs theme, he quickly deviates from this path, and it becomes clear that one of the main ideas of the film is dealing with tragedy. The audience is often presented with acts of remembrance that they can identify with, as Paul experiences flashbacks of his dead brother and Mousse sprays her pillow with Louis’ cologne at night. Developing such empathy with its characters is a recurring theme throughout, essential for a film that wears its heart on its sleeve.
The stark contrast of the dark, mundane city and the bright sunshine and colours of the refuge come with their own connotations. Mousse’s pregnancy, along with the beauty and tranquillity of the peaceful countryside, bring hope to her gloomy existence, and there is a feeling that by leaving the city, she has at least broken free from some of her grief. Never is this more prominent than in a scene in which she takes a walk in the surf, Ozon concentrating his camera lens on the glint of the sun’s rays on Mousse’s pregnant belly.
Music also plays a key part in shaping the mood of the film throughout. Early on, Louis’ subdued strumming, a harrowing riff executed with an epic simplicity, assists the film’s aspirations of starting on a darker note. His brother Paul plays the piano (which makes up a substantial portion of the soundtrack), and when he does, the melody takes a sombre shape, filled with thoughtful chords. Much of the emotion contained within Le Refuge transpires through its music, as opposed to the conversations between the characters, and dialogue often takes a back seat.
In its closing stages, the film sadly loses its way slightly, unravelling its narrative and disrupting its flow with a far-fetched twist in proceedings. Not only is this twist quite easy to see coming, but considering the predominant themes, it also feels inappropriate.
With its short running time, not all angles of Le Refuge feel like they are resolved. Although the film does not end unexpectedly, one still feels that perhaps more could have been explored with the characters. Only briefly does Ozon scratch beneath the surface with his lead character, which comes as a disappointment. On the whole, Mousse comes across as having coped very well with Louis’ death, but rarely do we find out how she got there.
Despite a reluctance to develop its narrative furthermore, Le Refuge provides a moving snapshot of the various manifestations of grief. François Ozon prioritises the use of contrasting colours and dictates the ambience throughout, sometimes to devastating effect. However, by utilising music as an emotional crutch, the film is slightly guilty of overusing this method, and although the film demonstrates the great power of things left unsaid, once in a while a change of tactic may have been welcome. MC
Film: 5 x 2
Release date: 12th September 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, Stéphane Freiss, Géraldine Pailhas, Françoise Fabian
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: UGC
Format: DVD
Country: France
What would be the five defining moments of a great relationship? This is the question explored by François Ozon in his 2005 love story 5 x 2 (Cinq Fois Deux). Five critical moments in a relationship between two people, and how they shape it from its inception to its demise.
The film’s five scenes are presented in reverse order, beginning with Marion (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) at the end of their relationship going through the ugly motions of divorce, and then proceeding back to a hotel room for an even more uncomfortable last sexual liaison before parting for good.
Next we go back to a dinner party with Gilles’ brother and his male partner, where the guests reveal secrets of their past infidelities, and where Marion and Gilles’ son is a toddler. Then at hospital for the birth of their son (for which Gilles is notably absent). Then the night of their wedding, and finally the moment on a summer holiday when the relationship first begins.
Playing the story out in reverse is a technique we’ve seen used before in Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible and Christopher Nolan’s Hollywood hit Momento, and it’s particularly effective here. When we first join the characters, we are not yet emotionally invested in them and so observe the relationship impassively. We see the years of compounded bitterness and regret in their body language, and wonder how this couple who clearly still care for each other could ever have reached this stage? It’s this curiosity on our part that is the strength of the film. Over the course of the 90 minutes we learn exactly where and when the seeds of doubt and mistrust have been planted, and how they’ve grown and eroded over the years until that first (final) scene.
While the scenes are reversed, the dynamic of the action remains fairly straightforward - the film playing on the fact that often the most tumultuous events in a relationship are those at the beginning. Telling the story backwards gives us a sombre beginning, a turbulent middle and builds to an elated finish as the couple first meet and marry. The later scenes (detailing the beginning of their relationship) also carry an added weight because we’re privy to the knowledge of how they’ll eventually play out. They say that hindsight would be a wonderful gift to have at the time, well in 5 x 2 the audience is granted that gift.
The two leads are superb, with Stéphane Freiss completely believable as the arrogant, controlling Gilles, mesmerising as he recounts a story of an orgy at a dinner party while his wife squirms in embarrassment next to him. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi‘s performance as Marion is a study in subtlety and a pleasure to watch. In the same scene, her face is a mask of controlled despair, eyes shattering behind an impassive façade as Gilles gleefully recounts the story.
Ozon and Emmanuèle Bernheim’s screenplay is beautifully reserved, the dialogue touching and occasionally brutal, while the surefooted camerawork achieves genuine intimacy without ever feeling intrusive or voyeuristic.
Ozon has commented that the Italian love songs which punctuate the film were chosen for their “over the top sentimentality,” to level out some of the intensity of the storytelling. It’s an effective tool, for although things get pretty dark, there is an omnipotent sense of care and affection woven into every scene. We’re left in no doubt how much Marion and Gilles care deeply for each other, despite the problems they face, and how much Ozon cares for his characters and seems to genuinely lament their inevitable tragedy.
In the final beautiful shot we see Marion and Gilles wading out into the sea, swimming tentatively into unknown waters. Given what we know this has a particularly weighty relevance. Gilles comments, “There are really strong currents,” to which Marion replies, “But it looks so peaceful.” As they disappear into the distance, we know they’re both right.
Some will undoubtedly find the story simply too everyday to be exceptional, but there are hidden depths behind the banal, and on repeat viewing 5 x 2 emerges as a prime example of the kind of insight and intimacy European cinema achieves so effortlessly. By the end, we’re so entrenched in the evolution of the relationship that it’s painful to watch the new love affair as it starts to blossom. Weighted down as we are by the knowledge of what’s to come, the reveal in the third act hits home with the kind of emotional impact Hollywood blockbusters can only dream of. LOZ
