Criminal Lovers (1999)

Wonderful character development!

Fantastic!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Les amants criminels (1999)is François Ozon's topsy turvey world of children's fairy tales and psychotic horror based primarily on Hansel and Gretal but with nods to other children's stories. But perhaps to, Ozon recognizes the frequently violent aspects of these tales and has recasts this one in modern terms with Alice and Luc as the high school students whose adventure is presaged by Alice's recitation (shown in flashback) of a fragment from a poem by Rimbaud: Hell cannot attack pagans I'm still alive! Later damnation's delights will be more profound Quick a crime! That I may fall into the void, by human law So the crime is murder, performed by willing dupe Luc, of unsure sexuality, under the spell of the psychotic Alice. The children retreat to a forest to dispose of the body and become lost, eventually taking refuge in a hut of an ogre who intends to fatten Luc and starve Alice. The ogre take a fancy to Luc and after some preliminaries partakes of Luc in a way that goes some way toward deciding his sexuality. But still loyal to Alice, Luc engineers an escape and the pair eventually attempt consummation of their love naked in a clearing under the benign gaze of the forest creatures in a bizarre nod to a Disney animation feature. It all ends badly however in a deviation from the living happily ever after coda of fairy tales. To heighten the sense of the incongruous, Ozon adds a score that include themes from such great love stories as Trastan und Isolde but he is intending to amuse here rather than chill as in his Regarde la mer An entertainment, definitely not a statement. Not for those offended by the homoerotic.

Honestly, I cannot say I enjoy this film too much. Although for years Ozon has impressed me with his penetrative observation and depiction of human psychology,which comes into blossom in many of his great works such as Sitcom and Swimming Pool.This film somehow reminds me of Hard Candy,which you cannot put any judgment upon as the moral code is totally invalid there.In this film,we have a beautiful girl Alice -half sweet and half vicious; an introverted and simple boy Luc.The couple plan a murder and escape to a wood where they unexpectedly encounter an odd man (whom,we soon find out,is a gay) And the story takes a turn at this point. In this man's seedy and dark house,awful things take place -while Alice is locked in the basement,Luc is treated as a sex doll of the old man. Later they even notice the body of Sid,the guy murdered by them in the basement. Eventually,like most clichéd thrillers,they escape and attract the police,paying their penalty.While I didn't find the main plot much original,I did feel that the sub-plot quite interesting.Firstly,it doesn't expose Luc's homosexual tendency clearly,which leaves the audiences to figure out whether Luc kills Sid out of jealousy.In fact,several details gives away this message,including the most important one: Luc cannot have a 'hard-on'when he's with Alice.Secondly,it is quite doubtful that whether Alice truly loves Luc.The dream sequence in the basement shows that Alice has fantasies about Sid yet is essentially disappointed over her weak boyfriend.Therefore,the reason why she wants to kill Sid is perhaps a sort of perversity -get high from visceral stimulation.Ultimately,the relationship between the two is a rather perverse one.As for the morality of the film,I'd say it deconstructs any stable moral system and points no way out;what's more,audiences are put in a strange position where they cannot draw a clear line between the right and the wrong.Alice,both sweet and vicious,can be pitiful in the basement and wicked in rest of the time;the old man is a gay and a cannibalist,yet in the end he lets the couple go;the police,so-called imposer of justice,shoot Alice mercilessly and beat the old man...perhaps the only character that is slightly 'positive'is Luc,yet he is a murder and a potential gay.These explain why I call the film amoral.It is so cynical that it negates all the characters.The audiences are left there drinking down the poison of criminality but unable to find any antidote.That being said,I cannot figure out the intention of Ozon -a social critique or just another encouragement to voyeurism? Or both? Because if anyone walks out of the cinema saying 'I'm now a better person',I doubt it.But if one says the film is for those who have naive views about the world,much appreciated -it's an eye opener.

It all looks simple, but what is going on in CRIMINAL LOVERS is complex. Ozon is adept at conveying the shifts in our emotions and clearly enjoys exploring our conflicted natures.Sexy Alice (Natacha Regnier), a manipulator of men, coerces the sexually uncertain Luc (Jeremie Renier) into murdering the handsome Said (Salim Kechiouche). Although getting rid of the body proves problematic, the couple's real problems begin when they take refuge in an old cottage in the forest.The owner of the cottage is Karim (Yasmine Belmadi), an odd fellow who develops a fondness for Luc and a hatred for Alice. Perhaps Alice is his competition? The film explores fascinating sexual territory, and even reminded me, tonally, of Japanese pink films such as WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED and CAPTURED FOR SEX 2.Ozon embraces the provocative subject matter with supreme confidence and never recoils from its inherent darkness. The erotic tension remains taut throughout and the performances are beautifully balanced.The photography is subdued but stylish and the forest setting echoes "Hansel and Gretel".There is great intelligence behind this adult fairytale and a willingness to explore sexuality and desire that is never hampered by the stench of political correctness that handicaps so much "edgy" material these days.

If you haven't yet discovered France's new infant terrible, François Ozon, this would be a most excellent place to start: Les Amants Criminels is perhaps his best feature-length film thus far, a supremely accomplished work of incredible daring and depth. The story isn't linear - it jumps back and forth from past to present, revealing details slowly, very Scorpionic - and by the end of it, your feelings towards the two main characters have changed tremendously. And as in all Ozon films, the casting is impeccable, particularly the two leads: Jérémie Rénier as Luc, and Natacha Régnier as Alice. You can get the DVD online - make sure you get the Strand Releasing version, with the subtitles.