Director / François Ozon (SWIMMING POOL, 8 WOMEN, THE NEW GIRLFRIEND)
Stars/ Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stötzner and Marie Gruber

This French/German co-production, which was nominated for 11 César Awards, is based on the 1932 film BROKEN LULLABY by Ernst Lubitsch and starred Lionel Barrymore.

Taking place during the aftermath of the First World War, Anna (Paula Beer, pictured below) is mourning the death of her German fiancé Frantz, who was killed defending his country in France. Residing at the home of Frantz’s parents Hans and Magda Hoffmeister (Ernst Stötzner and Marie Gruber), she finds some comfort in paying visits to the grave of her beloved. One day during a routine visit, she witnesses a stranger placing flowers on Frantz’s grave. Raising suspicion and wanting to discover how this man knew her fiancé, Anna decides to meet with him.

Acclaimed French filmmaker François Ozon’s rendition of this tale is a compelling piece of cinema that is handsomely photographed in black and white and boasts exquisite acting work, yet ultimately does underwhelm.

During the first half of this French/German language drama, Anna begins to interact with the mysterious Frenchman who is visibly troubled by something unspoken. The screenplay loosely alludes to a few potential reasons that have brought Adrien (Pierre Niney) to Germany and keep its keenly observing audience finely attuned by doing so. To this point, a number of scenes that take place inside the Hoffmeister family home is what truly stands out. Each actor during these scenarios carefully and flawlessly nurse the emotion felt deep inside to the visible eye. FRANTZ also incorporates various forms of art including music and painting to add extra dimension to a story that evolves into a somewhat more psychologically complex tale in its second half.

There is a particular fascination to the trajectory of later proceedings in FRANTZ, which remains a beautiful film to the senses. The finale is digestible, however, certain unmistakable subtexts detected earlier in the film have been left abandoned by Ozon and linger with the viewer.

3 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion/ PG (mild themes and violence)

Trailer / FRANTZ

Moviedoc thanks Sharmill Films and Cinema NOVA for the invite to this film screening.

Review by Moviedoc / “LIKE” on Facebook – Moviedoc

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