Can love vanish without a trace?
This is the subject of this haunting film directed by Francois Ozon and released in 2000.
‘Charlotte Rampling gives one of the best performances of her career as Marie, a college lecturer who has been happily married to Jean for over 25 years. Whilst on holiday, they visit a deserted beach where Marie lazes in the sun while Jean sets out for a swim – from which he never returns. Some time later in Paris, Marie has resumed her life but refuses to accept that Jean has drowned, continuing to think of him in the present tense and resisting her friend’s well-meaning attempts to interest her in other men….’
Charlotte Rampling’s performance is a tour de force and her feelings of confusion and desolation stayed long with me after the movie finished.
This is a great and thought provoking watch and it is a film filled with sadness.
Save it for the day when you are in the mood to have your emotions tweaked. xv
