robydiroby Vista dagli occhi del perdono e dell'amore. Un capolavoro di umanità. Mi inchino.

rblenheim Paris-born François Ozon is a filmmaker who has made a number of radical films in the French "New Wave" movement (a few shocking, some even salacious), probably the most popular being "Swimming Pool" in 2003. During the last few years this challenging filmmaker has begun to display a maturing without shedding his 'edge', reaching his artistic zenith in "In the House", one of 2012's finest films, but now "Frantz" may be his chef-d'oeuvre. Made just as Ozon was approaching 50, it displays not just maturity of the artist but a refinement, perhaps even a mellowing. Of course, the source material may have had something to do with it as it is loosely based on the 1932 Ernst Lubitsch Hollywood film, "Broken Lullaby". Set in a small town in Germany just after the end of World War I, the story deals with a young German woman (sensitively played by Paula Beer) who's fiancé had been killed in the war and the remorse felt by the French soldier (Pierre Niney) who killed him, but Ozon's visual style, patterned after Edouard Manet's painting, Le Suicidé, displays a sublime beauty of texture immeasurably aided by Ozon's decision to combine pristine black and white cinematography with muted color sequences. The result is a bittersweet love story conveying deep sorrow in every scene that provides an emotional experience that is almost an anomaly for the usually cynical Ozon. Praised throughout the world, especially for its cinematography by Pascal Marti, this is a film worth seeking out, even if somewhat conservative for such a celebrated French enfant terriblé.

Kirpianuscus First, because it is an Ozon. so, your expectations are well defined. second - it seems be familiar. your memories about "Broken Lullaby" are the basic clue. but, "Frantz" is different. special. surprising. yes, provocative. for motifs out of words. it is a love story. and more. it is a war film. and more. it is the story of a meeting and discover and family and clash between different cultures. and, off course, more. because all has the status of source for new steps on a way without rules, limits and forms of delicacy remaining unique. a film like one of yours memories. seductive. moving. discret . convincing. like an old song . or a flavour. so, an experience. fragil, strange, useful. about force and vulnerability. preserving not only the realistic images of a lost period but, in refreshing manner, its spirit. so, "Frantz". it is enough its title for define each aspect of this, in charming way, film.

Tom Dooley Set in the German town of Quedlinberg in 1919 we meet Anna. Her fiancé –Frantz – has been killed near the end of The Great War and she mourns at an empty grave – his body having never been repatriated. She lives with his parents who are both grieving in different ways. Then one day she sees a man weeping at the graveside and discovers he is French. He soon makes himself known as a pre war friend of their beloved Frantz and breaks down their initial hostility towards him to get to know them better.But all is not what it seems and this becomes a story of not one but two odyssey's as the storie(s) unfold along twist and turns. The film is shot in monochrome and colour. When it is black and white it is where things are bleak as if all the colour has drained from the world and then when love and hope appear so does the radiant colours. A simple enough device but done with subtle intensity an a film that takes its cinematography, rightfully, seriously.The acting is all sublime with Piere Niney ('Yves St. Laurent') as the Frenchman – Adrien Rivoire – being perfectly cast balancing the fragility and immediacy of the role perfectly. Paula Beer as Anna really grows into her role too, which is necessary from the plots development and from the actual character development and is prefect also. All supporting actors are just spot on. The film also shies away from the melodrama that is often associated with extremes of emotion and take the everyday and makes it important.This is one of those films that comes along all too seldom. It is in French and German with good subtitles. Yes it can be called 'Arthouse' but it is also a simple but powerful story told with great care and skill and is a film that will reward you for sticking with it to the end – easily recommended.