Les amants criminels

When I was a child ,"Hansel und Gretel" used to scare me to death.Even if they finally succeed at escaping from the clutches of the witch,some fears never fade away.The fear of the unknown forest where any person can be an enemy.The fear of unknown people you meet in the dark corners of the streets .The fear of being kidnapped and taken away far from your family.

When I saw "les amants criminels " for the first time ,I had the same sensation as when I read the fairytale ;rarely,I felt so ill-at-ease ,in need of fresh air :Ozon's sinister tale stirred my emotions ,my subconscious,some of my childhood fears that never went away.There are a lot of hints at childhood here:outside the Grimm tale,the heroine's name is Alice (on the other side of the mirror),and the scene near the cascade ,in its quietness, where the two lovers are surrounded by animals ,recalls some Disney movie.

And mainly ,mainly ,Ozon ,among only a few contemporary directors, has completely understood Hitchcock's great lesson:expect the unexpected .After their crime,the two lovers start out ,as Janet Leigh did in 1960,and I dare you to guess what will happen then!

Ozon is the most gifted contemporary French director.

A wonderful modern Hänsel and Gretel version by Francois Ozon, one of today's most interesting French filmmakers. Natacha Regnier (La vie rêvée des anges) is most impressive as the scheming and unscrupulous, yet at the same time strangely innocent and childlike schoolgirl Alice who brings her impotent boyfriend Luc (not-so impressive, though ok Jérémie Renier) to killing their handsome Arab schoolmate Said she is lusting for. As for her motivations, the Rimbaud quote ("Un crime!...") in one of the flashback scenes seems to tell the most about it. Maybe she also hates Said because he is sexually aggressive and at the same time very desirable to her - so he doesn't give her that complete control she has with Luc who is none-menacing to her in any way whatsoever.

As for Luc, whose internal development we follow the closest in the story, I don't know exactly why he is able to perform sexually in the end (in a scene that seemed to me a kind of parody to 70s softcore porn movies) when first he couldn't. It is true, Alice was menacing and even false to him (in the beginning, she tells the blindfolded Luc that she has taken off her bra when in fact she hasn't, then she photographs him half naked and tells him playfully she would send the pictures to his parents) - but then, the Man of the Woods (Serbian actor Miki Manojlovic - it makes sense that this strange character is played by a foreigner) seems also to be dangerous, doesn't he? Or is it that the Man (contrary to Alice) doesn't expect anything of him, only to stay calm and let go - that's why this in neither way attractive person is the first Luc is able to enjoy sex with?

As for Luc and Said, someone here has mentioned that Luc may desire Said for himself. Though this never gets clear, but there is a tell-tale scene when Luc goes to Said's boxing class and watches him for an important period of time, while we hear strange, hymnical music on the background score. This may indicate that Luc is indeed attracted to his sexy schoolmate, though he also 'knows' that Said and his friends did terrible things to Alice (things the girl made up in order to convince Luc to take part in the killing).

I also found the motif of the rabbits very interesting: rabbits here are exchangeable for people, as the same things happen to human beings as to these animals. A rabbit gets killed and so does a human; a rabbit gets caught in a trap and so does a human; a rabbit is eaten...

All in all a very interesting Ozon movie. And as always in his films, there is more behind it than one may notice at first sight...

Ozon has cooked up an intriguing exercise. Drawing from eclectic sources ranging from Grimm's fairy tales, through Walt Disney to Bonnie and Clyde, (just to name a few), it becomes a curious amalgam.

The problem is, as interesting as it may well be, Ozon lacks the artistry to utilize all the elements towards an overall vision. He seems much more interested in the bits rather than the whole. This over indulgence with the ideas themselves weakens the effect of the film as a whole.

There's much room for interpretation (as with all fairy tales), but owing to the general lack of cohesiveness of this work, one cannot take this all too seriously, since ultimately this is not a movie worthy of serious consideration, despite it's ambitious pretensions.

Jeremie Renier has the most interesting and difficult part to play, being both sexually and morally conflicted. It's a well controlled and powerful performance.

"Criminal Lovers" has the makings of a fascinating movie but Ozon lacks the skill in weaving the elements together. It's the craft that separates the good from the great film makers.

one of Francois Ozon films. this is the most inspired definition for the embroidery of love, appearances, eroticism and meet with a classic fairy tale in new adaptation. a film who ignores taboos and who has the right seduction tools for impress. a couple, a murder and a meet. and the atmosphere who reminds a lot of similar stories but defines a great thriller. a film who has many virtue but not the status of comfortable film.the lead trait - science of Ozon to create fascinating games , like spider web, for define every day aspects of society.the other significant detail - the meet with Predrag Manojlovic, one of familiar figures from the films of Kusturica, here performing one of characters who, for a part from us, reminds large slices from childhood.

Story of love and death, with some American thriller sparkles and the flavor of Ozon, "Amants criminels" is trip in a dark universe, with strange cages and shadows of fears.

In same aspects, it is a new adaptation of "Dangerous Liaisons". Also, it is a adaptations of brothers Grimm tales. But important are not the images, rabbits or forest man , the murder or the rats. It is only a room of Francois Ozon universe and relevant is the desire of director to discover the limits of a situation. Not the ways but the purpose.

The evil girl for the other is basic object, the homoerotic scenes, the strange land, the race different, the games and the end, the cries and forms of affection are pieces of an interesting puzzle in which the purpose may be the catharsis.

A cruel beautiful film. Cold, aggressive, nostalgic, sad and strange. A film about the ways of escape. And about their fragile substance.