Directed by Francois Ozon • Drama • With Pierre Niney, Paula Beer • 2017 • 114 minutes
Set in Germany and France in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, (1914-1918), Frantz recalls the mourning period that follows great national tragedies as seen through the eyes of the war’s “lost generation”: Anna (21 year-old Paula Beer in a breakthrough performance), a bereft young German woman whose fiancé, Frantz, was killed during trench warfare, and Adrien (Pierre Niney, Yves Saint Laurent), a French veteran of the war who shows up mysteriously in her town, placing flowers on Frantz’s grave. Adrien’s presence is met with resistance by the small community still reeling from Germany’s defeat, yet Anna gradually gets closer to the handsome and melancholy young man, as she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz, conjured up in evocative flashbacks. What follows is a surprising exploration of how Ozon’s characters’ wrestle with their conflicting feelings – survivor’s guilt, anger at one’s losses, the overriding desire for happiness despite everything that has come before, and the longing for sexual, romantic and familial attachments. Ozon drew his inspiration from a post-WWI play by Maurice Rostand that inspired the 1932 film adaption by Ernst Lubitsch under the title Broken Lullaby.
Up Next in August's Top 30 Films
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Golden Years
Directed by Barbara Kulcsar • Drama • With Esther Gemsch, Stefan Kurt • 2024 • 92 minutes
Alice and Peter are celebrating their retirement – and with it, a new phase in their lives. However, shortly after the couple’s retirement party, a sudden tragedy befalls Alice’s best friend Magalie. Peter,...
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Joyland
Directed by Saim Sadiq • Drama • With Alina Khan, Ali Junejo • 2023 • 127 minutes
The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his f...
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The Hole (Tsai Ming-liang)
Directed by Tsai Ming-liang • Drama • With Lee Kang-Sheng; Yang Kuei-Mei • 1998 • 89 minutes
Set just prior to the start of the 21st century, this vaguely futuristic story follows two residents of a quickly crumbling building who refuse to leave their homes in spite of a virus that has forced th...
