Frantz (2016)

In the aftermath of WWI, a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé's grave to lay flowers.

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

François Ozon (scenario), Philippe Piazzo (in collaboration with)

Stars:

Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stötzner

7 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierre Niney	...	Adrien Rivoire
Paula Beer	...	Anna
Ernst Stötzner	...	Doktor Hans Hoffmeister
Marie Gruber	...	Magda Hoffmeister
Johann von Bülow	...	Kreutz
Anton von Lucke	...	Frantz Hoffmeister
Cyrielle Clair	...	La mère d'Adrien
Alice de Lencquesaing	...	Fanny
Axel Wandtke	...	Le réceptionniste de l'hôtel
Rainer Egger	...	Le gardien du cimetière allemand
Rainer Silberschneider	...	Le vendeur de la robe
Merlin Rose	...	Le jeune homme ivre
Ralf Dittrich	...	Adolf
Michael Witte	...	Gustav
Lutz Blochberger	...	L'homme du lac

Storyline

In 1919 Quedlinburg, Germany, a young woman named Anna is still mourning the death of her fiance, Frantz Hoffmeister, in the Great War while living with his equally devastated parents. One day, a mysterious Frenchman, Adrien Rivoire, comes to town both to pay his respects to Frantz's grave and to contact that soldier's parents. Although it is difficult for both sides with the bitterness of Germany's defeat, Adrian explains that he knew Frantz and gradually he wins Anna and the Hoffmeisters' hearts as he tries to connect with them. Unfortunately, Adrien and Anna discover the truth of his motives and things seem shattered for all. However, when Adrien leaves, Anna has her own struggles with the truth and her feelings until she sets out to find Adrien in France. With that, Anna has her own journey to make in more than one sense, even as they both realize that neither have easy answers to their complex personal conflicts with each other and the dead man linking them.

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Plot Keywords:

germany | world war one | post world war one | black and white segues into color | guilty conscience | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including brief war violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Pierre Niney was not a German speaker, so his co-star Paula Beer taped his lines in German and he learned them by ear, according to director François Ozon.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Jurassic Park 3 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Les tourments
Composed & Conducted By Philippe Rombi
Performed by Orchestre Symphonique Bel'Arte
(p) 2016 Cristal Records
Label BORIGINAL - Distribution Sony

User Reviews

A beautifully filmed essay about guilt, lies and loss in the between-wars era

Nations reconcile after war but it is only people who can grant forgiveness. For many, it is an impossible grant that leaves wounds unhealed. This theme dominates the Franco-German film Frantz (2017), a psychological drama about a former soldier's personal quest for forgiveness. Filmed mostly in black and white, it is a poetically beautiful essay about guilt, lies, and tragic loss, set in the between-wars era.

The storyline is shaped by deep grief and national hatreds. In a small German village, Anna (Paula Beer) is grieving the death of her fiancé Frantz who was killed fighting in France. She visits his gravesite daily and one day finds that someone else has left flowers on the grave. A few days later she finds a stranger standing solemnly at the headstone and introduces herself to a brooding Frenchman called Adrien (Pierre Niney). They are soon in conversation and Anna is shocked to hear that Adrien had spent time with Frantz in Paris, sharing a love of music, art, and good times. Anna introduces Adrien to Frantz's parents who bitterly blame all French people for their son's death. As the parents hear Adrien share his grief and his memories of Frantz, a bond begins to form between all of them, at first reluctantly then warmly. But the mysterious Adrien is harbouring a tragic secret. Eventually he breaks down and confesses to Anna with whom a romantic attachment has developed. She immediately shuns him and he returns to Paris. Time elapses and she cannot forget him. Urged by the parents, she goes to Paris to find Adrien where she must confront a new loss and learn about forgiveness.

For audiences expecting an action-driven narrative, there little on offer in this film. The story moves forward in sombre but exquisite monochrome and often tense dialogue that is punctuated by a few scenes in colour as respite from melancholy. The performances of its four main roles are laden with emotion but stops short of melodrama. The principals Paula Beer and Pierre Niney give finely nuanced performances evoking the behavioural norms of the era. All performances are high-wire acts of emotion and dramatic tension: the pain on the parent's faces when they hear stories of their son is palpable and the tense suppression of Adrien's dark secret is electric. Anna's struggle between her loyalty to the cherished memory of Frantz and the possibility of new love is mirrored in the Franco-German struggles with blame, guilt, grief, and hope. As the relationship between Anna and Adrien strengthens there are several lyrical scenes of languid days enjoyed at the side of a pond that are composed like painting masterpieces and emblematic of the artistry brought to the making of this film.

Frantz is multi-layered with intense emotion that is explored at the personal and national levels. Truth is always the first victim of war and where truth fails, lies, promises and secrets take over. Frantz can rightly be described as an art-house feminist film. By taking Anna's viewpoint it encompasses universal themes of agency over victimhood that empower her to move on in her life.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook (French) Official Facebook (German)

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French German

Release Date:

15 March 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frantz

Filming Locations:

Görlitz, Saxony, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,745, 19 March 2017

Gross USA:

$880,883

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,478,354

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, X-Filme Creative Pool, FOZ

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1