gridoon2025

If there is one thing that Francois Ozon's "La Refuge" (2009) teaches us, it's that if you are trying to "find yourself", then living in a beautiful, secluded house near a vast beach without having to work at all is a great place to do it! It is a scenic but pointless film; it relies heavily on Isabelle Carré's shoulders to carry it, and she does...but it still seems more of a time-filler project for Ozon. The "literal" navel-gazing that I mentioned in the summary above occurs, of course, because the heroine, as well as the actress who portrays her, are pregnant (and photogenic). **1/2 out of 4.

"Un Secret" (2007) is a challenging family drama - mystery which takes place in at least five different time periods, but mostly in the past and around the German occupation of France in the WWII years. It dexterously handles multiple time jumps, and keeps your attention, but loses momentum somewhere along the way. It does have a first-rate cast: Cécile de France certainly looks the part of an athlete (a swimmer / diver, to be specific) -> you can see why Patrick Bruel would, with a guilty conscience, consider her to be an upgrade compared to a deliberately dowdy Ludivine Sagnier. **1/2 out of 4.