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François Ozon
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François Ozon (born November 15, 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality.
He has recently achieved international acclaim for his films 8 femmes (2002) and Swimming Pool (2003).
François Ozon is considered to be one of the most important young French film directors in the new “New Wave” in French cinema such as Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Philippe Ramos, and Yves Caumon, as well as the "New French Extremity."
Biography
Having studied directing at the French film school La Femis, Ozon made several short movies like Une robe d'été (1996) and Scènes de lit (1998) that already display his defining style.
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Encyclopedia
François Ozon (born November 15, 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality.
He has recently achieved international acclaim for his films 8 femmes (2002) and Swimming Pool (2003).
François Ozon is considered to be one of the most important young French film directors in the new “New Wave” in French cinema such as Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Philippe Ramos, and Yves Caumon, as well as the "New French Extremity."
Biography
Having studied directing at the French film school La Femis, Ozon made several short movies like Une robe d'été (1996) and Scènes de lit (1998) that already display his defining style. His motion picture directing debut was Sitcom (also 1998), which was well-received both critically and by audiences.
After the Fassbinder adaptation Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes (2000) came the movie which made him a name outside of France, 8 femmes, starring icons of French cinema as Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Isabelle Huppert, and Emmanuelle Béart. With its quirky mix of musical numbers and murder mystery and a production design harking back to 1950s Hollywood melodramas such as the ones directed by Douglas Sirk, this film became a huge commercial success.
In 2003, Swimming Pool starring Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier was released, considered by Ozon a very personal film that gives insight into the difficult process of writing a novel or screenplay.
In 2004, he directed the movie 5x2. In 2005, he debuted his latest film Time To Leave at various worldwide film festivals.
Ozon's first full English-language production Angel starring Romola Garai (I Capture the Castle, Vanity Fair), was released in early 2007. The film, based on a novel by British writer Elizabeth Taylor, follows the story of a poor girl who climbs the social ladder by becoming a romance novel writer in Edwardian England. Film was set at Tyntesfield House and Estate near Bristol and other UK locations as well as in Belgium.
While filming Angel, Ozon developed a strong friendship with Romola Garai and now calls her his 'muse.'
LGBT themes and characters
Ozon, who is openly gay, has often featured LGBT people in his movies. Here are some examples.
- Une robe d'été : a young gay man strengthens his relationship with his boyfriend through a brief encounter with a woman and how her summer dress changed his sex drive.
- Scènes de lit : this features a lesbian couple and a gay couple.
- La petite mort : a gay man's relationship with his estranged father.
- Sitcom : this spoof comedy has numerous lesbian and gay references. The family's son comes out, engages in sexual orgies and begins an affaire with the maid's husband, a sports teacher. The maid, herself, finds out she's a lesbian and seems to have a relationship with the mother, who has tried to cure her son's homosexuality by sleeping with him - she, of course, fails.
- Les amants criminels : the main male character is gay and in the closet ; he kills his (male) object of desire out of jealousy and enjoys his relationship with an ogre-like man who's kidnapped him and his female friend who was, more or less, his beard
- Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes : the two male characters, Léopold and Franz, are lovers - they are either gay or bisexual, while Véra, a former boyfriend of Léopold's, is now an M2F transesxual.
- 8 femmes : one woman is a lesbian and another is bisexual ; the maid is ambiguous towards her female boss all the while she is her male boss's mistress. This film presents a lesbian kiss between Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant. It's a gay cult movie in France.
- Swimming Pool : there's an underlying sexual tension between Ludivine Sagnier and Charlotte Rampling's characters.
- 5x2 : the gay couple is the one constant thing while the main straight couple divorces.
- Le temps qui reste : this deals with the end of life of a young gay man dying of cancer.
Recurring actors
A number of actors have appeared more than once in Ozon's movies. They include :
- Sébastien Charles, who plays the lover of the main character in Robe d'été has appeared in numerous other Ozon movies (Scène de Lit/Les puceaux, Sitcom) and choreographed 5x2, 8 femmes, Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes and Robe d'été.
- Marina de Van plays in Sitcom, Regarde la mère and has co-written Sous le sable and 8 femmes.
- Charlotte Rampling plays in Swimming Pool, Sous le sable, and Angel
- Ludivine Sagnier plays in three movies : Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, 8 femmes, Swimming Pool.
- Lucia Sanchez, who plays the maid in Une Robe d'été.
Filmography
Short films
- 2006 : A Curtain Raiser starring Louis Garrel
- 1998 : X2000
- 1997 : See the Sea (Regarde la mer)
- 1997 : Scènes de lit
- 1996 : L'homme idéal
- 1996 : A Summer Dress (Une robe d'été)
- 1995 : La petite mort ("Little Death")
- 1994 : Action vérité ("Truth or Dare")
- 1994 : Une rose entre nous
- 1993 : Victor
- 1992 : Thomas reconstitué
- 1991 : Deux plus un
- 1991 : Peau contre peau (les risques inutiles)
- 1991 : Le trou madame
- 1991 : Une goutte de sang
- 1990 : Mes parents un jour d'été
- 1988 : Les doigts dans le ventre
- 1988 : Photo de famille
External links
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