GOUTTES D’EAU SUR PIERRES BRÛLANTES
WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS |
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Director:
François Ozon
Screenplay: François Ozon, based on the play “Tropfen
auf heisse Steine” by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Cast: Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier, Anna Thomson.
Running time: 90'
Year of production: 2000
Rating: NR; some nudity and sex.
Gauge: 35mm (color)
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
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“Ozon’s
direction respects the theatrical nature of the piece but is sufficiently
cinematic to lift the film from its stage origins. A highlight in
the mostly funny fourth act is a scene in which all four protagonists
suddenly launch into an impromptu dance ensemble.” David Stratton,
Variety. |
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Germany,
1970’s. Leopold (Giraudeau), an insurance salesman in his fifties,
brings home naive 19-year-old, Franz (Zidi). Over drinks, while the
two discuss Franz’s girlfriend and their marriage plans, Leopold
succeeds in seducing him. Over the next six months Franz changes from
giddy, carefree youth to browbeaten housewife, unable to leave the
increasingly cranky Leopold. The sex is great but their arguments
intensify. One day Franz’s girlfriend, Anna (Sagnier), suddenly
appears and tries to win back the protesting Franz. Just as they are
about to flee, Leopold returns. Then Leopold’s transsexual ex-lover,
Vera (Thomson), shows up. Domestic tragedy becomes bedroom farce -
until the farce turns tragic. Adapted from an unproduced play by the
19-year-old Fassbinder, the script boasts witty and incisive dialogue
as well as keen insights into the relationship between sex and power.
Though surely autobiographical, the script departs in the final act
from the realm of psychological realism to become a parody of doom-laden
Romanticism. Set entirely in Leopold’s apartment, the evocative
camera work, simple but stylish art direction, and first-rate acting
ensure that the film never feels claustrophobic or uncinematic. Ozon
shows seventies-style Free Love to be anything but liberating.
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| PHOTO Courtesy
of Zeitgeist Films |
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