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Water Drops on Burning Rocks

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With his deliriously rich fourth feature, Water Drops On Burning Rocks, François Ozon (See The Sea, Under The Sand, 8 Women) tackles the legacy of the great Rainer Werner Fassbinder in fascinating ways, even as he refines his own distinctive voice. This brilliantly acted film is alternately tender and sardonic, visually opulent yet claustrophobic, and wise beyond its years.

Although you do not need to have seen a single Fassbinder to enjoy Ozon's film, those people familiar with the German enfant terrible will recognize his perennial theme of the vicious circles of exploitation - with all of the attendant love, loathing and unsettling but sometimes hilarious humor. Yet his worldview is refracted through a new, and razor-sharp, perspective. Middle-aged Leopold and 20-year-old Franz obviously love each other, but their familiar, and all-too-human, inability to communicate divides them. Into that breach Leopold is only too eager to bring exploitation, as he turns Franz into a hausfrau, albeit one in lederhosen instead of pantyhose. Typical of Fassbinder, we see the exploitation spiral into a second generation, as Franz uses Leopold's strategies on his former girlfriend, Anna, when she makes a surprise visit in the hope of snagging back her beau. Perhaps the most poignant, and surprising, example of these circles - within circles - of need and frustration comes when we learn the story of the mysterious Vera, Leopold's former lover.

Ozon also uses, and creatively plays with, Fassbinder's visual style, especially as seen in the ravishing Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Like Fassbinder he narrows the visual field with edges of walls, doors, and windows to re-frame and imprison the characters, and employs frontal shots, extreme angles, and merciless close-ups; although Ozon favore more diffused lighting. Like his predecessor, Ozon wrests genuine visual beauty from the claustrophobia of the single hermetic setting. He also paid meticulous attention to a dead-on recreation of a 70s bachelor pad, from clunky rotary-dial phones to swamp-like shag rugs.

There is also much of originality here; and Ozon had not set out to make a neo-Fassbinder picture. As he remarked, he had "wanted to make a film about a couple for a long time.... about the difficulty of living together and putting up with the daily routine. In discovering Fassbinder's play, I realized that I didn't need to write an original screenplay.... Funny and moving at the same time, the breakdown of the couple touched me."

Ozon brings the play to life, inspiring in his four cast members performances of outstanding range and depth. Fassbinder is justly praised for his use of actors, but as a disciple of Brecht and Godard he often emphasized the political ideas which his characters embody, creating an intentional distance between audience and the allegorized figures onscreen. With Ozon, the ideas are there for anyone interested in extracting them, but there is more spontaneity. And Ozon is already a master at revealing increasingly subtle psychological layers in his extended scenes with characters - most notably Franz - alone. To take one example, Franz in the bathtub reading Heinrich Heine's poem "Lorelei" is not just some highbrow beefcake shot. Ozon and actor Malik Zidi show us the minute workings of Franz's mind and emotions, in this intensely private moment. Even in the astonishing final scenes, when the film reaches its ironic (and typically Fassbinder) climax, Ozon has his actors emphasize the flesh-and-blood humanity of the people whose lives they are not only inhabiting but revealing. I am in no way denigrating Fassbinder; but this is a major, albeit subtle, difference between the two filmmakers.

The picture's most delightful moment - which Fassbinder would never have filmed - is the wild dance number in the fourth (of four) acts, using an infectious 70s Euro-pop anthem, "Dance the Samba With Me." Ozon keeps Fassbinder's head-on visual style - the quartet arranged in a (ahem!) straight row - but the energy is purely his own. Not only does the dance give a burst of adrenaline, as it hurls the film towards its climax, it also reveals character. We vividly see one reason for Leopold's phenomenal sex appeal: His swiveling hips might have turned even Elvis's head. This scene also shows that Ozon is part of the modern French cinematic tradition, recalling the whackily unforgettable madison danced by Godard's titular Band of Outsiders (1964).

Comparisons aside, Ozon has created an exceptional film in his own right: Funny, caustic, stylish, disturbing, and memorable. He has brought a strikingly fresh vision to this wittily pessimistic play of ideas (about love, power, and gender roles) and tangled emotions. And although Fassbinder might have been surprised by the changes (like grafting one of his most personal later films, In a Year of 13 Moons, onto the final act of one of his earliest plays), you can imagine him reveling in Ozon's accomplished visual style (both allusive and original), his command of narrative rhythm, the richness of the performances, and even those wonderfully unique moments - like the samba - which just might have set Rainer Werner's own toes a-tapping.

Francois Ozon is one of the new wave of French directors, who have made their mark by the sheer force fo their talent. And while his latest 8 Femmes, has taken France by storm, and has made his name on an European and International level, his earlier films show the signs of a great director.
I saw Water Drops yesterday, having no expectations at all..Just a movie on cable to kill my sunday afternoon, and i was pleasently surprised and captivated.
The story based on Fassbinder's play is typical of the late German director..gay themed, complex, full of tortured souls, and pessimistic. But Ozon gives the film a new life, with his brilliant camera work, and his obvious sympathy for the characters.
Although the ending leaves a lot to be desired, and prevents me from giving the film full marks, it is the wondeful actors that keeps you watching in fascination.
Giraudeau and Zidi give their best performances to date as the gay couple, with a complex relationship full of passion, quarrels and the need for fulfillment.
As for Ludivine Sagnier, not only she is very beautiful, but her acting is very good, as well as Anna Thomson aka Anna Levine, an underrated American actress that did some excellent indie and european films.
The dance scene is probably a bit weird , watching it in the context of the whole film, but it adds some humour to the Fassibinderesque bleak atmosphere.
The choice of music, I thought was very good as well. The German songs complement the film beautifully.
The film has some nudity, but it is not explicit in a voyeuristic sense. Like most French films, it comes naturally and very believable, as opposed to the somehow added scenes for the viewer's pleasure in most American films.
So Water Drops is an intense above average film for cinema lovers that should be appreciated for its acting, direction and even music.

First of all, let me point out that I'm not a fan of gay/lesbian cinema....But, with that said - this is an intreging character study of a middle aged man falling in LUST with a 19-20 year old man. As graphic as this COULD have been, it was handled with care. Its not exploitive in any way - so I can't imagine the public in an outrage - or REALLY shocked by some of the scenes with actors Giraudeu & Zidi.
As with MANY relationships, the 'spark' seems to disappear after a few months - and the two lovers are confronted with their differences. But when it becomes VERY interesting is when Zidi's fiance shows up, (EXTREAMLY well played by Ludivine Sagnier) - along with Giraudeu's X lover. Not much can be said without giving away too much - but all 4 are faced with their own depressing situation.

The film tries to be lighthearted at times, but only succeds when the 4 characters are dancing to 'Dance The Samba With Me'. This is one of the greatest DANCE scenes I have ever saw on film - and the REASON I say that:

Look at all 4 characters. Play the scene over & over watching ONE actor at a time. The personalities clash within the film, just as their dance techniques do. Giraudeau plays the MACHO uncompassionate one, Zidi plays the 'confused and just trying to fit IN' image, Sagnier plays the fun-loving-NOTHING to worry about flower child, while Giraudeau's X lover (played by Anna Levine) is the sultry sexy one, who tries to hold on to her youth - but falls short of doing so. This is a BRILLIANT scene ! Its too bad it only lasts a minute.

I think if it was more kind-hearted, it would have been a fantastic movie...But it starts to get bogged down in self indulgence, and therefore seems to ruin the tempo of the film.

ALL actors are excellent in it, but Ludivine Sagnier stands out above the rest. Her presence in the film is such a welcome sight - she could (and WILL) turn a few heads in a room. Throughout 75% of the film, her character is either nude or walking around in her underwear - which I'm sure is not easy to do in filmaking - but she pulls it off wonderfully. I certainly hope to see her in more films soon. She is a name to watch for.

François Ozon has flair and style ('Swimming Pool', 'Under the Sand', '8 Women', etc) and in scripting Rainer Fassbinder's 1970s play 'Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes' for the screen he has created an edgy, fun, and poignant examination of the lives of four people at their intersection.

Act I (for that is the way the film is laid out in homage to Fassbinder's play): 50-year-old Léopold (Bernard Giraudeau) is entertaining 19-year-old Franz (Malik Zidi), who he has picked up in a bar, with sharp repartees about his past loves and is sparred by Franz relating his current affair with the young and beautiful Anna (Ludivine Sagnier). The conversation gradually gets around to seduction and both Léopold and Franz happily reenact each other's physical fantasies. Act II: some months later and Franz has moved in with Léopold becoming the devoted housewife in lederhosen to Léopold's increasingly cranky self. They argue, threaten, but eventually succumb to the safety of the boudoir to settle differences. Act III: Léopold's ex lover Vera (Anna Levine) arrives at the door to find Léopold in a new life and departs brokenhearted. Anna likewise arrives during one of Léopold's absences and for two days Franz and Anna try to recapture their previous affair. Upon Léopold's return, Anna finds Léopold appealing and behaves seductively. Vera arrives, reports that she is a transsexual now in a female form, and Léopold is delighted with the idea of a ménage a quarte. But it is Franz who has found his true life and love and how he deals with the proposed turn of events forms the rather surprising end to this film.

Each of the four actors is excellent and Ozon paces them well. There are some really fine moments, as when Franz reclines in his bath quoting Heine's poem 'Lorelei' revealing how far more penetrating the changes in his vision of his life really have become, when Ozon improves on Fassbinder. Not a great movie but a bit of the different that spices movie viewing. Grady Harp, August 05

This was a hard one not to like, because Malik Zidi is one of the most appealing men I've ever seen anywhere. If the movie had ended after the first half hour, I would have given it at least four stars just because of him. But the rabid, mean-spirited homophobia that drives this movie (and I assume the Fassbinder play it was based on) to its thoroughly depressing and depraved conclusion just becomes unbearable. Technically it's very well made, and I'm grateful for discovering Zidi, but I wish I'd never watched this depressing, hateful movie.

This film story is basically about a young man hintersted in an older man where they praticed gay sex and later in the film where their woman came to find them and the later the yong man's woman praticed sex with the older man and he killed himself due to the yong man troubled and unhappy over the older man's reaction to their man to man's relationship...that's all....I views this film based on the hongkong's version and give this film a 3 star due to the fact that this film is talking about deviant type of loveship.

Water Drops On Burning Rocks

review written by:


Dr, MR Franc MBBS (PhD) GPS Ang Poon Kah
director 'lou ye'- Ang Poon Kah for film summer palace.

This bizarre little French film is based on a play by Fassbinder. A 50-year-old gay man (Leopold) meets and seduces a 19-year-old straight man (Franz). They move in together and quickly end up in a rut and bickering like an old married couple. Franz improbably takes on the role of the nagging, passive-aggressive housewife, even dressing in leiderhosen at one point! Leopold begins to pull away and Franz fears that Leopold will leave him for another man. The situation is complicated when Franz's ex-fiancee reappears, tries to win him back, and ends up falling for Leopold instead. Add in an unexpected visit from Leopold's ex-lover who was a man but became a woman, and the stage is set.

The tone of the film is very broad satire (although I'm not sure what it is satirizing). It's hard to take this film seriously, but the actors dig into their parts with such zeal that it's also hard to dislike it. However, I'm not sure what the point of the film was. Aside from a few chuckles, I didn't enjoy watching it. Not recommended.

Okay, I'm not usually this harsh with my movie reviews. I usually like to give some leeway to movies, especially if they're *really* trying to express some sort of artistic quality or something. But this one so truly falls short, it's remarkable how bad it is. Seriously, if "no stars" were an option, I'd be clicking on that one.

The movie starts with Franz, 19, sitting around in Leopold's apartment, chatting, drinking, playing some games. Leopold is clearly a gentleman with some age on him. How Franz got to be it his situation is unclear. Franz also talks openly about his girlfriend, Ana, whom he intends to marry soon.

Inexplicably, however, Franz spends the night and in the very next scene, we realize that Franz has moved in, and the two are now lovers. Franz then promptly assumes a submissive, meek housewife role, and in fact, for whatever reason, feels like he had to endure a slew of verbal abuse from Leopold. Can we say co-dependency?

Ana shows up in the middle of this debacle, and the viewer is (or, at least, I am) led to believe that Franz will come to his senses. No such luck. Heck, they even have sex -- perhaps Franz can now realize what a screwed-up life he's living with Leopold now? Nope.

Indeed, even the arrival of a former boyfriend of Leopold (who is now a woman) is not enough to snap Franz out of it.

And this is also where all of a sudden, any tenuous connection that this movie might have had to reality is completely lost. One would suppose that, as Ana has somewhat rekindled whatever spark Franz once might have had for her, SHE would at least dislike Leopold enough to slap some sense into either of them. We should only be so lucky.

All logic and reason (except MAYBE for Franz) suddenly flee with alarming alacrity at this point. People do things that make NO sense to me whatsoever, and I'm left scratching my head. Well, more than just scratching my head, but upset and confused at the very least. I mean, Ana LIKES the man who stole her boyfriend away from her and treats him like dirt? Ana is EXCITED by the prospect of dancing with Leopold and, indeed, wants to have sex with him? Come on!

Don't bother to see this movie. It's truly not worth it. It's two hours you won't ever get back.

Capsule review:

An entertainingly dark sexual farce about the antics of a cranky businessman and his 19 year-old male lover when the boy's ex-girlfriend tries to rekindle the flame. Peculiar, charming Fassbinder work. If you like art house films, try this one.

AKA 'Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes'

Actors: Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier. Directed by François Ozon. 1999 France Kodak Color 90 min. WS Dolby Digital 2.0 In Français+Deutsch. Subtitles: English. Drama/Period 1970s.

very unique film. Boy has older male lover and his ex girlfriend tries to rekindle an old relationship with boy. Odd, but worth a watch. Great cast, unique story.