Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
:
Water Drops on Burning Rocks) is a
2000The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.-Top-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 2000...
French
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
directed by
François OzonFrançois Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
. The film is based on a German play by
Rainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
,
Tropfen auf heisse Steine.
50 year-old business man Léopold (
Bernard Giraudeauthumb|right|250pxBernard Giraudeau is a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.-Life:Giraudeau was born in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later...
) arrives home with 20-year old Franz (
Malik ZidiMalik Zidi is a French film, television and theater actor. Zidi is a four time nominated and one time César Award recipient for Most Promising Actor.-Career:...
), whom he has just met. Franz is not quite sure why he agreed to come home with Léopold as he is supposed to be meeting his fiancée Anna, but he accepts drinks from Léopold and they begin to get to know each other.
Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
:
Water Drops on Burning Rocks) is a
2000The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.-Top-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 2000...
French
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
directed by
François OzonFrançois Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
. The film is based on a German play by
Rainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
,
Tropfen auf heisse Steine.
Act 1
50 year-old business man Léopold (
Bernard Giraudeauthumb|right|250pxBernard Giraudeau is a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.-Life:Giraudeau was born in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later...
) arrives home with 20-year old Franz (
Malik ZidiMalik Zidi is a French film, television and theater actor. Zidi is a four time nominated and one time César Award recipient for Most Promising Actor.-Career:...
), whom he has just met. Franz is not quite sure why he agreed to come home with Léopold as he is supposed to be meeting his fiancée Anna, but he accepts drinks from Léopold and they begin to get to know each other. Franz tells Léopold that he is not sure whether or not he loves Anna, that he does not really enjoy sex with her, finding more pleasure in books, theatre and life in general. Léopold asks him if he has ever slept with a man. Franz says he has not, but describes a dream where a man comes into his bedroom in an overcoat and has sex with him. Léopold says that although he once lived with a woman for seven years, he has always found sex with men more exciting. They kiss, and Léopold tells Franz to get undressed and into bed. He then appears beside the bed in an overcoat ready to re-enact Franz's dream.
Act 2
Six months later, Franz is living happily with Léopold. He stays at home while Léopold goes on business trips. When Léopold returns, Franz tends to his every need and has become very passive. Léopold has become very domineering. The two men spend a great deal of time arguing and Franz worries about Léopold leaving him, but they still have a satisfying physical relationship. One night, a melancholy Léopold confesses that he believes he has driven one of his customers to commit
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
. Franz, unsure how to comfort Léopold, seduces him, and they perform the role-play from their first night together, this time with roles reversed.
Act 3
Franz and Léopold are still enjoying sex together but the animosity between them is growing. Franz threatens to leave, but does not go through with it. When Léopold is away on business, Franz is bored and depressed. He finds a gun and imagines shooting himself. One day his ex-fiancée Anna (
Ludivine SagnierLudivine Sagnier is a French actress and model, who has worked in 33 movies since 1989. She was nominated two César Awards for Best Supporting Actress in Swimming Pool and Un secret .-Early life:...
) visits. She sees how unhappy he is and tells him that she still loves him and wants to be with him. They kiss, and Franz acts out the "man in overcoat" sequence with her.
Act 4
Franz and Anna have been sleeping together in Léopold's apartment for two days. She has convinced him to leave and happily talks about the children they will have together. Although he still loves Léopold, Franz agrees that he should leave. Léopold returns from work early and finds them packing. When Anna tells him that Franz is leaving, Léopold just laughs and tells Franz to get them some coffee. Léopold's ex-girlfriend Véra (
Anna LevineAnna Kluger Levine is an American actress. She has also been credited as Anna Levine Thompson and Anna Thomson.-Filmography:* Desperately Seeking Susan as Crystal* Murphy's Romance as Wanda...
) arrives and Léopold introduces her, explaining that she is a
male-to-femaleA trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by many such individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl, and ts-girl...
transsexualTranssexualism is a condition in which an individual identifies with a physical sex different from the one they were born with. A medical diagnosis can be made if a person experiences discomfort as a result of a desire to be a member of the opposite sex, or if a person experiences impaired...
. Véra is still in love with Léopold. He then tells them that Véra used to like being tied up, and that Franz likes it too. Franz, angry at being humiliated by the older man, says they are leaving, but Anna wants to stay. Léopold wants them all to have fun together. Léopold starts ordering the two women about. They are excited and start getting him whatever he wants. Franz is disgusted. Léopold tells him that although he does not need Franz, Franz needs him. When Léopold and the women go to the bedroom. Franz goes to join them but changes his mind. He fantasises about murdering Léopold. In the bedroom, Véra realises that the others do not need her and leaves them to it.
She finds Franz lying on the floor crying. She tells him that she is Léopold's "
creatureA creature is a living organism. The term is derived from a widespread historical belief in creationism. The word is generally used to refer to non-human animals but does include humans, and it is also sometimes used to mean monster....
", that after he stopped desiring her, she had a
sex changeSex reassignment surgery from male to female involves reshaping the male genitals into a form with the appearance of and, as far as possible, the function of female genitalia. Prior to any surgeries, transwomen usually undergo hormone replacement therapy and facial hair removal...
operation for him. This worked for a while but Léopold eventually left Véra. Franz tells her that she is still beautiful and despite the fact that they both love Léopold, she suggests that they get together. Franz tells her that it is too late. He has taken some poison and is dying. He says that he is Léopold's creature too.
Franz dies. When Véra tells Léopold, he seems unconcerned. Anna is shocked and upset to lose the father of her future children, but when Léopold tells her to get back into bed, she does. Léopold asks Véra to join them in bed, telling her that although he does not need her, she needs him.
Cast
- Bernard Giraudeau
thumb|right|250pxBernard Giraudeau is a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.-Life:Giraudeau was born in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later...
as Léopold
- Malik Zidi
Malik Zidi is a French film, television and theater actor. Zidi is a four time nominated and one time César Award recipient for Most Promising Actor.-Career:...
as Franz
- Ludivine Sagnier
Ludivine Sagnier is a French actress and model, who has worked in 33 movies since 1989. She was nominated two César Awards for Best Supporting Actress in Swimming Pool and Un secret .-Early life:...
as Anna
- Anna Levine
Anna Kluger Levine is an American actress. She has also been credited as Anna Levine Thompson and Anna Thomson.-Filmography:* Desperately Seeking Susan as Crystal* Murphy's Romance as Wanda...
as Véra
Music
Music featured in the film includes:
- "Traüme", performed by Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy ) is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style.-Biography:...
- "Symphonie n°4 en sol majeur
The Symphony No. 4 in G major by Gustav Mahler was written between 1899 and 1901 -- though it incorporates a song originally written in 1892. The presence of this song means that the four-movement orchestral work features a solo soprano in the finale...
", by Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a Bohemian-born Austrian composer and conductor. He was best known during his own lifetime as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day...
- "Requiem, 3. Dies Irae", by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
- "Zadok the Priest
Zadok the Priest is a coronation anthem composed by George Frideric Handel using texts from the King James Bible. It is one of the four Coronation Anthems that Handel composed for the coronation of George II of Great Britain in 1727.[The other Coronation Anthems Handel composed...]
", by George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-English Baroque composer, who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England...
- "Tanze Samba mit Mir", performed by Tony Holiday
Tony Holiday was a German pop singer and songwriter....
Awards
- Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
(Germany)
- Won: Teddy Award
The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics in Germany. The award is each year presented in Berlin by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival or as it is commonly known, the Berlinale. Here, an "independent jury" implies that...
for Best Feature Film (François Ozon)
- Nominated: Golden Berlin Bear (François Ozon)
- César Awards (France)
- Nominated: Most Promising Actor (Malik Zidi)
- New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (USA)
- Won: Best Feature (François Ozon)