Sous le sable

I disagree with a few comments below: first, I believe it 'is' appropriate to switch back and forth between French and English because the character is an english literature professor in Paris and has bilingual friends; second, I feel it is unfair of anyone to characterize the main character as elderly, she is sensual, attractive, and tentatively has a good life to live in her future. I think the loss to the woman of her husband is like suddenly confronting the loss of the last 25 years of her life. To be able to cope with this changed reality she must cautiously explore a new experience; she is afraid to let go of her past and afraid to take hold of a future. I believe at the end of the movie we are shown that she will continue to refuse to relinquish the past, yet, invariably, it is shown to her that she must go on, embracing the present, as must we all.

A surprising change of pace for (up to that stage in his directorial career) shock auteur François Ozon in the wake of bourgeois facade-ripping as REGARDE LA MER and SITCOM, this minimalist masterpiece deals with love, loss and grief yet never becomes heavy-handed.

Middle-aged Marie (luminous Charlotte Rampling making a belated but extremely welcome return to leading roles), an English literature professor at a Parisian university, quite literally loses her husband (hauntingly sad-eyed Bruno Cremer) while on seaside holiday. She takes a nap on the beach as he's out swimming. When she wakes up, he has disappeared. Accidentally or voluntarily drowned ? Hiding perhaps from a stifling marriage ? Ozon offers no solid answers but focuses but focuses on Marie's stubborn denial of her husband's departure as she resumes her professional and social life as if nothing had happened. While those around her assume she's slipping from sanity, the truth proves considerably less tangible and far more nuanced. A tentative affair with the friend of a friend seems doomed from the start, leading to the shattering final scene, all the more heartbreaking for being open to any number of interpretations, none of them particularly cheerful.

Even though the filmmaker has reigned in his wicked humor and morality-defying shock tactics, this fortunately doesn't mean he has gone all solemn on us. The general lightness of tone might indeed startle in light of the subject matter, plus there's even an astonishingly erotic moment when Marie imagines herself being groped by both husband and lover in an elegant masturbatory fantasy. Ultimately, this is very much Rampling's show and clearly intended as such. Rarely out of frame for more than an instant here, she delivers the type of performance – both subtle and sensuous – that has been her stock in trade since she started enchanting movie audiences worldwide back in the '60s, her mysterious beauty undiminished (if anything, augmented more like) by the passing years. Contrary to her personal code of conduct (she will rarely work more than once with the same director, always looking for new experiences to further her craft and personal growth), she went on to star in Ozon's deceptively upbeat SWIMMING POOL and took a supporting role in his first failure to date, the atrocious ANGEL.

Mental illness as a lifestyle option seems to be the theme of this work. Very potent in examining the reality and meaning of loss and acceptance (or lack thereof). The always captivating Charlotte, (great to see Dirk Bogarde's little girl all growed up) looking elegant as a woman of a certain age in a very Anglo-Parisian sheath dress-wearing kind of way, is wonderful in her ability to convey contained confusion struggling to make sense of a pain too great to bear. Also noteworthy, stylistically, is a rare instance of unease being effectively evoked in spite of sunlit sets and daytime outdoor shots. No doom and gloom here, she gets to suffer in the light of day. A film that will remain with the moviegoer long after viewing because of its painful emotions and its visually powerful final shot.

Many film fans run screaming for the door when confronted with French film drama. It is true: a lot of them tend to be over-talkative and self indulgent. François Ozon's Sous le sable is a worthy exception. Carried almost entirely by Charlotte Rampling, this story of a woman unable to face the loss of her husband marks the return to form of a great actress. Through her sensitive handling of her character one tends to forget the effort that must have gone into depicting an intelligent woman slowly going to pieces. Ozon managed to capture the special sensuality of an older woman especially well in the erotic scenes; imagined or otherwise. It is not an easy film to watch, the subject matter too painful, but its unflinching honesty coupled with Ramplings moving performance make it more than worth-while.

As a film script writer and director, Ozon has evolved and matured in "The Swimming Pool" and "In the house," developing his pet themes involving sex lives and mental infirmities. But the the real value of this film will remain Ms Rampling's performance which is comparable to her turns in "The Night Porter, " "The Damned," and "Hannah." She is evidently magical whenever she works with Ozon.