[Film Review] "Double-Faced Frantz" (Frantz) is a love affair, miss it and miss it

This is a 2016 drama film directed by François Ozon and starring Pierre Niney and Paula Beer .

After the end of the First World War, Anna, a German woman, went to her fiancé's grave every day to lay flowers, but she could not escape the pain of losing her lover. One day, a mysterious French man, Atien, came to express his condolences. He claimed to be Franz's friend before his death. Not only did Anna not regard him as an enemy of the enemy, but his love for seedlings grew quietly.

suspense forbidden love

Ou Rong's films are good at creating a creepy atmosphere, using mirror images to divide people into two or integrating multiple identities, using visual and auditory effects to enhance the connotation of the narrative; the film even quotes famous paintings, mentions well-known poets, and more. Some of the edification of literature and art. For example, when Anna visited the Louvre, she deliberately watched Manet's famous painting "Suicide" that Attien once said. This is not a painting that traditionally describes suicide events, but jumps to the picture after the event, without praising sacrifice and heroism at all. Or idealistically didactic, the unique arrangement could be said to refer to the film's extraordinary love.

The director's arrangement of pictures and sounds is ingenious. The film uses black and white photography as the main body. When encountering Attien's violin and recalling the past of the war, the picture is changed to color, so that the story can get rid of the post-war gloom and tragic fog a little; The swaying sound of leaves in a brushstroke is not only an external manifestation of Anna's longing for the coming of spring, but also contrasts with the rumble of artillery fire on the battlefield.

Ou Rong's works often focus on taboo romance or sexual exploration, such as the assisted dating girl in "Beautiful Temptation", and the entangled romance between the heroine and twins in "Double Lover". Very set. Anna's heart pounding for Atian not only fits the literary proposition of "falling in love with someone you shouldn't love", but also points out that the war has provoked long-term hostility between Germany and France. Ou Rong also uses ambiguous camera language and narrative. The technique makes the friendship between Atian and Franz confused. Combining multiple elements into a drama film of less than two hours shows the director's ambition, and also leads the audience to taste a poignant and beautiful love that is short and romantic.

Are there two true loves in the world?

Although the title of the film is "Frantz", there are not many shots of Frantz, but everything starts because of him, Anna and Atian have an intersection, and the possibility of love has also increased. The love in the big era always swings between the sea and the rock and the unbearable. The audience does not know Franz deeply, but is deeply fascinated by the fragility of Artian, and also applauds Anna's perseverance, but the truth is buried in the relationship between the two. variable. Anna and Franz's oath before the war, only longing and sadness are left after the war. Her memory of Franz is gone. Atien's appearance not only allows her to see the unknown side of her fiance, but also allows her to wander. heart to rely on.

Are there two true loves in the world? Anna and Artian each have something they can't let go of, and their feelings for each other are yin and yang. They meet as the wheel of fortune turns, mixed with nationality, hatred, and violation of the world. It is said that they were born in the wrong era and met at the wrong time To each other, it is too sentimental.

Unexpectedly visiting lovers not only test the choice of true love, but also tell themselves that their potential to love and be loved is never limited. Even if the people around you are despised, and you have been humiliated and tormented, once you have pursued your life recklessly, your life will not be in vain. It doesn't matter anymore, because love never draws conclusions on the scale of rational, moral criticism.

love of war

The ending of the film is undoubtedly regrettable, but it gives the audience a good expectation for love. People after the war are still living in the shadow of war. The appearance of Atien fills Anna's lonely heart, and it also makes Franz's parents relive the scene of their son's life. It is said that the fire of war is ruthless, and the fire continued after the war with more forgiveness, redemption and warmth. A single spark can start a prairie fire. Franz's gunfire ignited the love between Anna and Atian. Whether it was the pull of fate or accidental involvement, the two people who were involved in the torrent of history were only the one. A microcosm of the times.