| The Mystery of a Marriage |
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| written by talltale |
October 27, 2005 - 4:32 PM PDT |
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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Can a filmmaker dissect (and a viewer understand) the complexities of a marriage based on five relatively short scenes, each one a self-enclosed event, beginning with a divorce? On the basis of Francois Ozon's 5x2--the most accomplished piece of filmmaking I've seen in some time--the answer is a surprising, amazing YES!
I have given no "spoilers" away here because the film begins with the divorce and moves backward in time. Unlike the experience of viewing a piece such as Pinter's "Betrayal," although you may look for answers and want to say, "Ah-hah: THERE is reason!", you will not be given this luxury. Ozon, who grows better as he grows older, is too wise to find life that simple. Exquisitely chosen, each scene is so well-written and acted (the couldn't-be-better cast includes Valeire Bruni-Tedeschi, Stephane Friess, Geraldine Pailhas, Francoise Fabian, Michael Lonsdale and Antoine Chappey) that your mind, heart and (occasionally) libido will be glued to the screen.
Narratives that move backward are often prey to sentimentality because it is all too easy to feel sad at beginnings we know will come to naught. Yet Ozon is so even-handed, rigorous, elusive and elegant in his approach that all the richness and feeling is there at film's end--without the single jerk of a tear. Best of all, though the five scenes complement and play off each other beautifully, they do not complete. Each of us is mysterious, after all. It should come as no surprise to find that our relationships are even more so. |
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