I'm just getting into the work of Francois Ozon and I was wondering what other people though/recommended. So far, I've seen:

REGARDE LA MER - nice little psychological thriller that the French do so well - sun-drenched locales, something creepy lurking under the surface, wringing tension out of awkward exchanges between strangers or friends with secrets - with a bit of bite. UNDER THE SEA co-scenarist Marina De Van (IN MY SKIN) co-stars.

WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS - well done and amusing but perhaps Ozon takes the Fassbinder hommage to far in that it eclipses whatever touches Ozon might have added.

UNDER THE SEA - Ozon's masterpiece of the ones I've seen. Charlotte Rampling is incredible throughout - the scene with her mother-in-law is priceless - and compelling. Ozon manages everything perfectly. A friend of mine - like some critics I've read - was bent on diagnosing the protagonist but I felt that it was better seen as a subjective experience of loss and loneliness.

SWIMMING POOL - A more conventional and accessible Ozon - certainly more mainstream. It was good but just felt less substantial in relation to the lower-budgeted, intentionally less slick UNDER THE SEA. Ludivine Sagnier and Rampling play well off each other but its hardly "the summer's sexiest mystery."

5X2 - great performances from the leads (neither of whom I'd ever heard of before) but if it were not for the reverse chronology novelty, it would be a well-acted, well-shot but rather ordinary drama (great use of Paolo Conte's song "Sparring Partner," though).

any recommendations? comments?

. . . we enjoyed 8 WOMEN (2001), a very camp version of a French theatre mystery which is in the spirit of an Agatha Christie story - the eight women in a snowbound house in the country, any of whom might have murdered the fellow what owns the place sort of thing; the pleasure is in the watching of Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert (very, very funny), Emmanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant (loads of style - she looks great in a hat), Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, and Ludivine Sagnier (about as far from her SWIMMING POOL persona as it is possible to get) wear great clothes, do a bit of singing, and act up a storm as they dig their way through the plot . . . I suppose this one is not really a great piece of work, but we had a nice couple of hours . . .

I highly recommend Ozon's LES AMANTS CRIMINELS, a truly twisted, fascinating, and disturbing little film.

Vincent

Thanks, Vincent, I just borrowed a copy of the French DVD (with English subtitles) of LES AMANTS CRIMINELS.* Can't wait to watch it.

Here is my review of the not-so-impressive French 2 disc of SWIMMING POOL (with additional comparison caps from the German and US releases added by the moderator).

*The English-subtitled Paramount/Film Office discs of Ozon's films (up to UNDER THE SAND, subsequent films were put out by other French distributors without English subtitles) are out of print but were reprinted by Warner with cardboard slipcase covers over the old cover inserts. I think all of those reissues have English subtitles for the features (I don't think any of the extras were subtitled to begin with).