Everything Went Fine (2022)

Direction: François Ozon
Country: France 

With this adaptation of Emmanuèle Bernheim’s deeply intimate novel, the adroit filmmaker François Ozon (Under the Sand, 2000; Frantz, 2016) mounts a valid and courageous reflection on assisted suicide, making it unclouded by distilling a few hints of humor. Effectively blending heavy drama and dark comedic tones, the film succeeds on the strength of its acting, with Sophie Marceau bringing a kind of attentive concern to her character, and André Dussolier - who worked with everyone from Alain Resnais to Eric Rohmer - appearing at his most disconcerting.

Emmanuèle (Marceau) is a Parisian writer who had a difficult childhood because of her depressed and unsupportive father, Andre (Dussolier). Now, at 85, the latter is recovering from a severe stroke at a hospital. Despite daily health improvements, there’s this irreconcilable pain associated with the fact that he became semi-paralyzed and will need external help in the future - “surviving is not living”, he claims. This permanent anguish leads him to ask his daughter to help him end it all. Dealing responsibly and bravely with the idea, she arranges the trip to Switzerland, where the practice is legal. But not without some bumps along the way.

This bittersweet snapshot of an aging man and his last will is more functional than great. Although catapulted by Emmanuèle’s fortitude, the film is occasionally coated in dramatic toppings, especially when Andre’s former lover, Gerard (Grégory Gadebois), is around. It’s a minor Ozon but still successful; surprisingly funnier than one should expect given the controversial topic. 

Summer of 85 (2021)

Direction: François Ozon
Country: France 

François Ozon, who spread unforgettable cinematic pleasure with titles like Under the Sand (2000), Swimming Pool (2003) and Frantz (2016), disappoints with Summer of 85, a heartsore coming-of-age farce centered on two contrasting gay teens. From minute one, we notice that Ozon opts for an extroverted pose and a touch of madness to tell a story that was loosely adapted from Aidan Chambers’ 1982 novel Dance On My Grave. Unfortunately, that strategy became more silly than sensible, and besides manipulative and overstuffed, the film wrestles with plot contrivances.

Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin play Alexis Robin, 16, and David Gorman, 18, respectively. They meet under stressful circumstances during the summer vacations at a Normandy’s seaside town in the mid-‘80s, with their relationship evolving into something deeper than just a mere friendship. Both are troubled youths in a way: Alexis, a difficult kid fascinated by death and corpses, is in love for the first time, while David, an inveterate seducer, doesn’t prescind from casual romantic adventures, something that his new partner is not willing to tolerate. The apparent strong bond between them is put to test when Kate (Philippine Velge), an English visitor who speaks supersonic French with an annoying accent, piques David's interest.

This trio of characters was made so uncompromisingly unappealing, and among the cast, only Valeria Bruna Tedeschi (Human Capital; It’s Easier for a Camel), who plays David’s garrulous single mother, deserves some credit, especially in the film's earlier part.

The script already wobbles along the way, and completely crumbles in the last chapters, becoming embarrassingly ludicrous (oh, that scene in the morgue…) in its pseudo madness and bromidic conclusion. There are oodles of coming-of-age films available, and Summer of 85, a lamentable misfire, doesn’t elevate the genre in any possible way.

By The Grace of God (2019)

Direction: François Ozon
Country: France / Belgium

François Ozon’s By The Grace of God explores a weighty theme, taking on the catholic church molestation cover-up with fierce determination. Confronting factors such as psychological damage, forgiveness, repent, and punishment, this drama film focuses on the particular sex scandal involving Father Bernard Preynat, a child predator whose sick conduct was neglected for years by his superiors. Ozon goes exactly to the central question: why monsters like these, who live hidden behind an institution, are not punished according to their crimes? 

This tightly patterned account is set in Lyon and involves several victims of the Father Preynat (Bernard Verley). Coming from different backgrounds, they are Alexandre Guérin (versatile Melvil Poupaud), 40, a banker and family man who cannot be silent anymore after realizing that the priest who abused him as a child over the course of two years was reassigned and keeps giving mass and working with children; François Debord (Denis Ménochet), a married man who takes Alexandre’s actions further by organizing a collective movement in order to call the attention of the media; and Emmanuel Thomassin (Swann Arlaud), a man in a toxic relationship, who frequently suffers seizures. All of them, and a few more, refuse to succumb to the trauma and agonizing memories that haunt them every day, and resolve to fight for justice. Cardinal Philip de Barbarin (François Marthouret), whose conduct is as impassive as Preynat is repulsive, is a key figure here as he tries to protect the institution and tone down the case. The guilt of those who knew but didn’t talk is also mentioned.

Mutating into a documentary-style approach, Ozon has a talented cast helping him stabilize the narrative disproportion whenever the film goes up and down in tone. Sometimes, we have the feeling that the story doesn’t go anywhere, but what the film lacks in the tension department, it compensates in exposing an uncomfortable truth that led Preynat to attempt blocking the release of the film in court.

Double Lover (2017)

Directed by François Ozon
Country: France / Belgium

Whenever I take a look at the filmography of prodigious French director François Ozon, I feel very comfortable stating that he is one of the most versatile storytellers working today. Regardless which genre he picks to dive into, his filmmaking style and artistic vision persist interesting, even when the scripts don’t facilitate his moves. Unforgettable films like “Under the Sand”, “Swimming Pool”, and “8 Women” became true classics, while “In The House”, “Young & Beautiful”, and “Frantz” earned a generally good reputation among critics and cinephiles alike. However, quality and consistency are variable factors in a cinematic career and Ozon lost his footing in his new film “Double Lover”, a cynical, erotic, psychological thriller starring Marine Vacth and Jérémie Renier. Both actors had worked with the director before; the former in “Young & Beautiful” and the latter twice, in “Potiche” and “Criminal Lovers”, released nearly twenty years ago.

Even piling up gripping tension throughout, the story didn’t captivate me so much due to the fact that Ozon simply forgot that, in most of the cases, less is more. Adopting several strained and calculative tactics within his genre-bending approach, he attempted to fuse the suspense of Brian De Palma, the sensualistic pleasures of Jean-Claude Brisseau, and that sort of “Alien” fixation of a woman with something creepy inside her guts. 

At the center of the story is Chloé (Vacth), a 25-year-old single woman and former model who is referred to a psychoanalyst after her gynecologist has concluded that the piercing bellyaches that keep tormenting her should be mainly psychological. At the age seven, her mother confessed she was an accident, and she was entrusted to her grandparents. It was no surprise that the lonely and fragile Chloé undertakes to seduce her therapist Paul Meyer (Renier), promptly revealing her sexual dreams with him after only one session.

After being considered apt for a normal life again - celebrated with a part-time job as a museum watchwoman - she moves in with Paul. However, she becomes suspicious and slightly paranoid about his past, after finding an old passport of his with a different surname. Whether by accident or terrible fate, she discovers that Paul has a twin brother named Louis, who is also a psychoanalyst. Yet, his personality and working methods are completely opposite to the ones followed by his estranged brother. After scheduling an appointment with this enigmatic man, Chloé is given a thorough diagnosis of her condition and becomes trapped in a dangerous web of personal fascination and sexual desire.

You may expect the unexpected in this adaptation of the 1987 novel Lives of the Twins by Joyce Carol Oates. Still, the twists are so uneven and deviant that made me experienced them more as nonsenses than effectively stimulating points. By dabbling in hazy mirror games and cheap, artificial glamour, Ozon squanders the chance of presenting something consistent, both thematic and genre-wise. Notwithstanding, and considering “Double Lover” as a punctual misstep, I keep my expectations high for his next move.

Frantz (2016)

Directed by François Ozon
Country: France / Germany

Respected French director François Ozon (“Under the Sand”, “Swimming Pool”, “8 Women”, “In the House”) is back with a post-war romantic drama that leaves us reflecting on life and its disappointments. He co-wrote the script of “Frantz” in collaboration with Philippe Piazzo, based on the 1932 drama “Broken Lullaby” by Ernst Lubitsch. 

The story, set in 1919, immediately after the end of the WWI, takes place in Quedlinburg, Germany, shifting into Paris for the final act. 
Paula Beer, in a meteoric ascension, was deservedly awarded at Venice for her role as Anna, a beautiful young German woman whose pacifist fiancé was killed in battle. Pierre Niney is Adrian, a sensitive French violinist who travels to a wounded Germany to visit the grave and family of his close friend Frantz Hoffmeister, Anna’s fiancé. He not only becomes close to Frantz’s parents, bringing some light to their gloomy lives, but also casts a strange spell on Anna, who was feeling extremely depressed and lonely. The reality, however, is not what it seems, and the drama becomes more and more profound as the secrets are unveiled.

The plot is decent yet not totally surprising and the systematic slow pace can be an issue for some. However, the poetic and somewhat nostalgic tones grabbed me until the end.
The nationalistic roars from both sides have a negative effect on these tormented characters, making them uncomfortable. They just intend to forget everything, let the pain go, and live their lives with no more rancor or guilt. 

“Frantz” was impeccably acted and beautifully photographed by Pascal Marti, most of the time in an attractive black-and-white. Its visual aesthetics, interior settings, and the WWI-related topic made me think of Haneke’s “White Ribbon”, which was more incisive and less lenient than the present.

As usual, Ozon was solid behind the camera in a classic (re)tale about remorse, forgiveness, and passion. Even with a couple of awkward moments, “Frantz” provides substantial cinematic pleasure.