ozons wakeup call
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

For Europe in 'Frantz'

Ozon's wake-up call

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Ozon's wake-up call

French director Francois Ozon (centre)
Venice - Arab Today

Acclaimed French director Francois Ozon brought a pacifist tale of reconciliation to the Venice film festival Saturday with his new melodrama "Frantz", a love story for an uneasy post-Brexit Europe.

A take on German-American master Ernst Lubitsch's 1931 film "Broken Lullaby", itself an adaption of a Maurice Rostand novel, "Frantz" is shot mostly in black and white and set in the aftermath of World War I.

It is not the only film in competition to be rooted in this period: like Derek Cianfrance's "The Light Between Oceans", the story is one of traumatised people on the move -- recalling those uprooted by wars and heading for Europe's shores today.

"Frantz" opens in a small German town -- the film is shot largely in German -- where Anna (played by sweet-faced Paula Beer) mourns daily at the grave of her fiance Frantz, killed in battle in France.

One day a mysterious young Frenchman, Adrien (Pierre Niney) also visits the grave. While Anna believes she has found a friend of Frantz's, he is spat at by the locals, hostile so soon after the German defeat.

Among the scenes of "Broken Lullaby" replicated by Ozon is the speech by Frantz's father in which he admonishes his compatriots, reminding them of France's two million dead, each of whom was also someone's son.

The film, premiering on the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II and as pro-Europe protesters organise anti-Brexit rallies, warns of the dangers of nationalism and closing the door on neighbours or migrants.

- Colour of mourning -

Ozon, who shot to fame with "8 femmes" (2002) and "Swimming Pool" (2003), told journalists in Venice it had been "important for me to tell the point of view of the Germans, who had lost the war". 

He chose to shoot largely in black and white because it brought a greater level of realism to the period drama.

"All our references from the period, all our cultural images of it are in black and white. I love colour though, and thought it could be a useful device in scenes where life interrupts the period of mourning," he said.

The film differs sharply from Lubitsch's offering, not only because the second half of the work is invented, but because Ozon -- known for complex female heroines -- shifts the perspective to tell the story through Anna.

Adrien's story of how he knew Frantz is pictured in a series of flashbacks imagined by Anna -- flashbacks which, however, reduced the emotional tension rather than increasing it, particularly in the weak violin scenes.

And there is a homoerotic connection between the two men which screams from the screen but is never outwardly acknowledged.

It is Ozon's love for Germany, the first foreign country he visited as a child, which shines through as he takes the viewer from squares to beer taverns in his exploration of melodrama's classic themes of guilt and forgiveness.

Sourc: AFP

GMT 10:48 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Singer Bruni arrives in Beirut Sunday evening

GMT 08:50 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Neil Diamond reveals Parkinson's, ends touring

GMT 04:25 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Indian states seek last-ditch film ban

GMT 07:40 2018 Monday ,22 January

South Korea in a swoon as megastar

GMT 10:07 2018 Sunday ,21 January

Will Smith hooked after Kyrgios classic

GMT 05:49 2018 Saturday ,20 January

#MeToo is 'tipping point' for Hollywood

GMT 06:20 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Lebanon reverses ban on Spielberg film

GMT 08:39 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Actress Kruger says Hollywood changing
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ozons wakeup call ozons wakeup call

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ozons wakeup call ozons wakeup call

 



GMT 05:06 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 20:35 2014 Monday ,08 December

CFP crucial for refining industry in Kuwait

GMT 13:25 2011 Tuesday ,13 December

Latest Call Of Duty Breaks $1bn Sales Record

GMT 06:47 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Fresh whale stranding on notorious New Zealand beach

GMT 10:48 2017 Sunday ,19 November

Industry minister receives Turkish ambassador

GMT 12:35 2015 Saturday ,06 June

Bindi Irwin is all grown up in new Instagram photo

GMT 14:08 2012 Tuesday ,28 August

600 Afghan soldiers killed over last 2 months

GMT 05:27 2011 Wednesday ,21 September

Facebook revenue estimated at $4.27 billion

GMT 20:06 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Senior Yemeni general killed in Houthi missile attack

GMT 23:18 2016 Sunday ,12 June

Daesh kills 18 civilians trying

GMT 00:47 2017 Tuesday ,10 January

6 policemen killed, 9 injured in Arish attack
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice