Under the Sand
by François Ozon
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexandra Stewart, Bruno Cremer, Charlotte Rampling, Jacques Nolot, Pierre VernierDirector: François Ozon
Cinematographer: Antoine Héberlé
Writer: François Ozon
Producer: Marc Missonnier
Producer: Olivier Delbosc
Writer: Emmanuèle Bernheim
Writer: Marcia Romano
Writer: Marina de Van
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-11-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of Under the Sand
Movie Review: Brilliantly Sublime Character Study in Grief and Loss...
Summary: 5 Stars
The loss of a loved one can be overwhelming when grief sets in, but closure is brought to the mourner through customary funeral services. However, when someone loses a beloved and the body of the loved one is not recovered there will never be true closure, which will leave the bereaved in somber doubt. Thus, the perceptual concept, seeing is believing, is one of the fundamental keys to the story's melancholic atmosphere as the main character, Marie Drillon (Charlotte Rampling), drifts into a ghostlike world.
Under the Sand begins with Marie returning to south France with her husband Jean (Bruno Cremer) to their summer house where they spend every summer. It is a vacation that they both look forward to as they can get away from the hectic city life. The Drillon's keep a thoughtful silence between them as they go through the daily chores, which is only broken sporadically. Apparently both enjoy silent contemplation and solitude, yet they harbor each others company with warmth and nurturing love.
The loving relationship between Marie and Jean takes a sudden turn as Marie wakes up from an afternoon nap under the Mediterranean sun. Bewildered where her husband is she begins to search for him along the beach where he went swimming. Panic begins to crawl upon her as she fears the worst as the coast guard cannot recover him.
Months later Marie has returned to her daily routine in the city where she lives and works. Marie's friends attempt to find someone to woo her, but she continues as if Jean is still alive. Marie buys her missing husband ties, talks to him before she goes to bed, and hugs him good night. In essence, it seems like Marie uses an avoidance strategy to deal with the loss that drives her into a delusional state where she sees and believes that he is not gone.
Underneath the surface of what is depicted there are several issues that could have caused Marie to drift into a delusion due to why her husband disappeared. It could be the moments when Marie and Jean sat in silence and never expressed their possible true thoughts, it could be a secret that Jean had, and he could have been simply bored with her and left. However, she will never find out as he never left her a note or a message of what he did. Instead she is left in a cerebral no man's land where she question why, and if she had anything to do with his disappearance.
François Ozon's Under the Sand is an intelligent depiction of grief, loss, and the process of dealing with a lost one that never is recovered. Ozon based the film on an event that took place by the ocean during his childhood. In addition, Ozon researched grief and loss by interviewing psychologists and specialists in the field of grief and mourning, which is evident in the depth of the character's persona. The film simply relies on Charlotte Rampling's performance, which is brilliant as it becomes an intricate character study of a characters grief and loss.
Under the Sand offers a wonderful cinematic experience, which is enhanced by Rampling's marvelous performance. It is also Ozon's cinematic touch of minimalism that brings more to the screen than what is uttered. This forces the viewers to dwell on what is illustrated on the screen as the silence influences the power of the image. Ultimately, the film reinforces the notion that "seeing is believing" as the audience cannot see and does not know what to believe.
Summary of Under the Sand
Named one of People Mag's "Most Beautiful People", Charlotte Rampling gives one of her most acclaimed performances in Francois Ozon's mesmerizing tale of loss and grief. For many years, Marie and Jean have happily spent their vacations together at their country house. One day at the beach, Marie naps in the sand while Jean goes for a swim. When she awakens, he is gone. Did he drown? Did he run off? Distraught, Marie notified the authorities but after an extensive search, no body is found.François Ozon's Under the Sand revolves around a tender, frightening contrast not easily forgotten: the dead live on only as long as we remember them. Marie (a luminous Charlotte Rampling) and Jean (Bruno Cremer), a middle-aged couple, are on vacation. As they ready the beach house almost wordlessly, a long-standing, intense love is immediately understood. While Marie naps on the shore, Jean goes off for a swim from which he never returns. Six months later, back in her empty Paris apartment, Marie goes about her life as if Jean is still there with her, reading in bed, massaging her feet, sitting at the breakfast table. At dinner parties and lunch dates, her close friends are visibly appalled her behavior. It becomes clear that Marie's place in society is increasingly precarious with a ghost at her side: her husband's bank accounts remain frozen because no body has been identified, her lectures at the university end abruptly in silence, her untimely laughter frightens a new lover. Ozon does not manipulate the viewer with surprise endings or try to charm with gags. Instead, we are intimately drawn into Marie's refusal to let go and her awful panic as Jean begins to fade. --Fionn Meade
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