| UNDER
THE SAND Sous le sable |
 2000
-
France
Director:
François Ozon - Reviewed by Frankie
Marie (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Jean (Bruno Cremer) lounge on the beach. She takes a nap while he goes for a swim. When Marie wakes up, Jean is nowhere to be found. She contacts authorities, but they can't find him either. Did he disappear to start a new life? Was he killed by accident? Did he commit suicide? Marie still asks herself these questions a year later, and in order to move on with her life, she must find some answers. It's a fine premise, and this little movie uses it to the limit. The film moves at a leisurely pace, a bit slow, but relaxing. It's a very visual story, and you can pretty much just sit back without reading the subtitles. This is mostly thanks to the excellent camera work by Antoine Heberle and Jeanne Lapoirie, who shot the film in a dreamy haze, and the lead performance by Rampling. Rampling is so expressive in her portrayal of Marie, you connect with her character instantly, despite that she's delusional. The scenes where she interacts with her husband, who she still believes is alive, are heartbreaking. She can't quite get over him. They've been married for twenty-five years. The other actors, particularly Jacques Nolot, are excellent too. The sex in the film is rather unneeded, but compared to Ozon's Criminal Lovers, it's the Disney Channel. Likely to cause some discussion afterwards, Under the Sand is a fine movie-going experience. While it's hard to recommend as entertainment, it's a fine adult alternative about how we deal with loss. Ozon seems to ask "what you would do?", and that's certainly a hard question to answer. |
|
Home
| Currently Playing | For
Rent | Video Obsession ©2001 Moviepie e-mail us |
Damn those trailers. Had it not been for the advertising of this film, which reveals far too much about its contents, I would have been glued to
Under the Sand. As it is, the film retains some value, thanks to an excellent performance by Charlotte Rampling, and a more mature
François Ozon in the director's chair.
