In a small German town after Work War 1, Anna mourns daily at the grave of her fiancé Frantz, killed in battle in France. One day a young Frenchman, Adrien, also lays flowers at the grave. His presence so soon after the German defeat ignites passions.
In a period obsessed with truth and transparency, I’ve been wanting to do a film about lies. I’ve always found lies to be exciting fodder for storytelling and filmmaking. So I was mulling it over when a friend told me about a play written by Maurice Rostand right afterWorldWar I. I investigated further and learned that the play had been adapted for the cinema in 1931 by Ernst Lubitsch under the title BROKEN LULLABY. My first reaction was to scrap the idea. How could I top Lubitsch?! But seeing Lubitsch’s film reassured me. It’s similar to the play and takes the point of view of the young Frenchman, whereas I wanted to take the point of view of the young german woman. Lubitsch’s film is beautiful, his direction is admirable and highly inventive as always. But it’s the film of an American director of German descent who didn’t know a second world war was looming on the horizon. My approach, as a Frenchman who did not experience either of those two wars, was obviously going to be different.
Biography
Internationally renowned auteur François Ozon is best known for films characterized by sharp satirical wit and an intense exploration of both human sexuality and of the bourgeoisie. While pursuing his Master’s degree in cinema at the University of Paris (under the instruction of teachers like Eric Rohmer and Joseph Morder), he shot dozens of films with his father’s Super 8 camera. François studied film directing at La Femis, and made several short films, including A SUMMER DRESS, awarded at Locarno and shown in Cannes in 1996. He quickly made a name for himself as an emerging filmmaker to watch. François directed the thriller, SEE THE SEA (1997), before making his first feature film a year later with the sassy and cruel SITCOM. He quickly developed a very personal style, on display in the fanciful CRIMINAL LOVERS (1990), and the fearlessly theatrical WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS, adapted from a play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Throughout his prolific career, François Ozon has collaborated with the most revered stars of French cinema including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, and Emmanuelle Béart in 8 WOMEN, Charlotte Rampling in UNDER THE SAND and SWIMMING POOL, Jeanne Moreau in TIME TO LEAVE, and Kristin Scott Thomas in IN THE HOUSE among many others. His work spans many genres from social comedy (POTICHE) to romantic melodrama (THE NEW GIRLFRIEND, staring Romain Duris and Anais Demoustier).
Filmography:
2017 AMANT DOUBLE 2016 FRANTZ 2014 THE NEW GIRLFRIEND 2013 YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL 2012 IN THE HOUSE 2010 POTICHE 2009 THE REFUGE 2008 RICKY 2007 ANGEL 2006 A CURTAIN RAISER (SHORT) 2005 TIME TO LEAVE 2004 5X2 2003 SWIMMING POOL 2002 8 WOMEN 2001 UNDER THE SAND 2000 WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS 1999 CRIMINAL LOVERS 1998 SITCOM 1997 SEE THE SEA
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