French bad boy director François Ozon, who caused a stir with his controversial first feature Sitcom (1998) and his shorts A Summer Dress (1997) and See the Sea (1997), creates a dark and brooding tale of transgression and sexuality for his second feature outing. Alice (Natacha Régnier) is a bored, spoiled high schooler with a gorgeous body and a sociopathic mind. She persuades one of her suitors, the naive and trusting Luc (Jeremie Renier), to murder another suitor, the handsome, rakish Said (Salim Kechiouche). The criminal act itself, though exceedingly messy, proves to be the easy part, as disposing of the body becomes the much thornier problem. They throw the corpse in the truck of Luc's parents' car and drive to a creepy forested area in Provence. In their haste to bury the body, they lose their way. Without warm clothes or food, they wander deeper into the forest until they happen upon a seemingly deserted shack. At this point, the film's narrative suddenly mutates from its Badlands-like beginning into a bizarre, horrifying version of Hansel and Gretel. When the resident of the hut returns, he rousts them at gun point into the cellar dungeon, where to their horror they find Said's exhumed cadaver -- missing a leg. It soon becomes apparent that the hermit plans to cook and eat the couple, but not before making Luc his sex slave. Alice quickly realizes that the world does not bend to her whims. Influenced by both Luis Buñuel and Jean-Luc Godard, Ozon's wickedly baroque film is an assault on the listless bourgeoisie and an exploration of the pitch-black corners of the soul. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival.
This is a very strange and weird movie, you have been warned But I loooove this type of movies
This is one of Francois Ozon early work, quite controversal for the themas presented in this movie. It starts with a very traditional "Hitchcock" like thriller and very soon, you realize that NO, this is not gona be a conventional movie, not at all It turns into a kind of modern Hansel et Gretel story. Only the ogre is homesexual and sadomaso Well, you get the picture, it is nothing but a normal movie, Francois Ozon crosses the boundaries but in a very smart and subtile way. He goes deep in the caracters personalities. Very psychologic and tense Loved it
Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:41 pm
