10 March 2008

François Ozon is one of those filmmakers whose films should be regularly featured on this site, but time restrictions and a reviewer shortage has so far limited the coverage to just one film, the 2005 Time to Leave (Le Temps qui reste), but while we're on the subject I'd also happily recommend the 1998 Sitcom, the 2000 Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlants), the delirious 2002 8 Women (8 femmes) and the 2003 Swimming Pool if you're looking to explore Ozon as a filmmaker. Equally engaging and revealing are Ozon's short films, which have been collected on one disc by the BFI for a UK DVD release under the title François Ozon: Regardez la mer and other short films on 31st March 2008 at the RRP of £19.99.

The films included are:

Regarde la mer (See the Sea, 1996, 52 mins) Alone with her baby daughter in a seaside cottage, Sasha agrees to let dour backpacker Tatiana pitch her tent near the house. An odd bond forms between them, underscored by a steadily amplified threat that is as sexual as it is violent.

Action vérité (Truth or Dare, 1994, 4 mins) Four teenagers discover the pain and excitement of their emerging sexuality while playing a harmless children's game.

La Petite mort (A Little Death, 1995, 24 mins) Paul, a young gay photographer, is estranged from his father and lives with lover Martial. When his sister persuades him to visit his dying father in hospital, Paul discovers that he can never escape his origins.

Une Robe d'été (A Summer Dress, 1996, 15 mins) While on holiday with his boyfriend, teenaged Luc has an encounter with a stranger on the beach that complicates his already ambivalent sexuality.

Scènes de lit (Bed Scenes, 1998, 26 mins) A series of liberated comic sketches on sexual etiquette, unbridled passion and post-coital aftertaste.

X2000 (1998, 6 mins) Three naked couples sleep, make love and wake up in an empty skyscraper littered with millennium party debris.

Un Lever de rideau (A Curtain Raiser, 2006, 25 mins) Bruno and his gay friend Pierre are waiting for Rosette, who is late again. This time Bruno's mind is made up: if Rosette makes him wait for more than 45 minutes, it will be over between them.

The collection is accompanied by a fully illustrated 24-page booklet with essays by Jonathan Romney, Paul Willemen, Sarah Cooper and Pamela Church Gibson.