Regarde la mer (1997)

Director:

François Ozon

Writer:

François Ozon (writer)

Release Date:

28 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Sasha, a young British woman, is living with her baby daughter at Ile d'Yeu, a peaceful beach community...

Plot Keywords:

Tent | Beach | Baby | Shorts | Towel

Cast

Sasha Hails	...	Sasha
Marina de Van	...	Tatiana (as Marina De Van)
Samantha	...	Sioffra, The Baby
Paul Raoux	...	Sasha's Husband

Also Known As:

See the Sea (USA)

Runtime:

52 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Ile d'Yeu, Vendée, France

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Het glazen huis: Eigen agenda (#1.52)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Panis Angelicus

Catch it while you can

This is flat out brilliant film-making - right up there with Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Ford, or anyone else you can name. It functions on multiple levels, the simplest of which is as a thriller which will keep you on edge for 52 minutes - and stays with you a long time after. It's done in a traditional French style - minimal dialogue, almost no music (1 pivotal scene), maximum use of visuals to tell story. The director doesn't need to tell the audience where to go emotionally with heavy handed music cues or dialogue - he knows exactly where he's taking us and lets the images speak for themselves. It's ironic that French films are sometimes thought of as pretentious, because this film is made so simply and fluidly. I heard it said that the best way to tell a story is to get out of its way and let it tell itself. I'd put this one in my top twenty of all time.