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Sous le sable (2000) More at IMDbPro »

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66 reviews in total

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24 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Life, Death, Grieving , Loss and Coping, 30 July 2005

Author: gradyharp from United States

François Ozon is a rare director, one who takes a simple story, places it in the eyes and bodies of his cast, and simply lets the tale tell itself. SOUS LE SABLE (UNDER THE SAND) is an unforgettable film experience that probes deeply into our psyches, hearts, and reason: how do we cope with sudden death? Opening quietly in the French countryside, a loving middle-aged couple begins a brief vacation in a family house, quietly and lovingly going about removing dustcovers, opening shuttered windows - settling in for a time of being alone together. Marie (Charlotte Rampling) is a professor of English in Paris (her specialty is Virginia Woolf) and Jean (Bruno Cremer) is her retired husband. Their long-term love is palpable: Ozon provides almost no dialogue, as none is needed to establish this special relationship, so powerful is the non-verbal communication between Rampling and Cremer. They visit the beach the next day and while Marie is sunbathing, Jean goes for a swim - and never returns. Marie searches for him, engages lifeguards, and ultimately returns to Paris, trembling but intact. Months later, while Jean is never found, we see Marie reacting as though he still exists. She visualizes him in various situations and the two actors (yes, Jean is present in these scenes) interact as though nothing has changed. But Marie's friends note with great concern that she is 'delusional' and make various attempts for her to seek professional and emotional help. When news eventually arrives that Jean's body has been found, she internally denies this possibility but eventually returns to the vacation house town to identify the bloated corpse. Even at this point, though obviously in shock, she denies that the corpse is that of her beloved Jean. She walks back to the site where she last saw Jean and in the distance a figure rekindles her hope...

Charlotte Rampling delivers a performance wholly committed. She communicates the spectrum of feelings of this challenged strong woman with her eyes, her gazes in the mirror, her interaction with her class of students, her friends, her admirer with such power that makes her Marie a wholly credible creature stricken by loss yet surviving in her chosen manner. It is one of the great performances of cinema. The entire small cast of this film is perfection. Ozon is a magical director and continues to prove he is one of the most honest and quietly powerful figures in today's cinema. Highly recommended.

Grady Harp

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17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
An honest but uneasy depiction of a woman's yearning for her dead husband., 29 April 2001

Author: libertyvalance (libertyvalance.gewijde@skynet.be) from Antwerp, Belgium

Many film fans run screaming for the door when confronted with French film drama. It is true: a lot of them tend to be over-talkative and self indulgent. François Ozon's Sous le sable is a worthy exception. Carried almost entirely by Charlotte Rampling, this story of a woman unable to face the loss of her husband marks the return to form of a great actress. Through her sensitive handling of her character one tends to forget the effort that must have gone into depicting an intelligent woman slowly going to pieces. Ozon managed to capture the special sensuality of an older woman especially well in the erotic scenes; imagined or otherwise. It is not an easy film to watch, the subject matter too painful, but its unflinching honesty coupled with Ramplings moving performance make it more than worth-while.

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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Charlotte Rampling, mostly, 13 June 2005
Author: Harry T. Yung (harry_tk_yung@yahoo.com) from Hong Kong

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Under the sand" is Francois Ozon's last picture in the 20th century (not the motion picture company), preceding his more recent work of "8 femmes" (2002), "Swimming pool" (2003) and "5x2" (2004) going into this century.

The first 15 minutes say more than meets the eye. The relationship between husband and wife is depicted in the blandly uneventful annual ritual of going to the summer cottage. Yet, during the rest of the film, you keep thinking back to these first few minutes, looking for clues to explain what you see. You recall how at the service station break she draws a puff from his cigarette and then almost playfully puts it in his mouth, and how he does not seem to respond much. You recall how before going to bed, she is visibly happy (though not excited, as they must have done this for years) at "finally getting to the vacation" and how he does not seem to respond much.

When he vanishes from the beach, presumably drowned, it gradually becomes clear that the film is a psychological study of the woman, a detailed account of how she gets on with her life – career, friends, romance – as if he is still around, at least in one corner of her mental existence. Without the details depicted in the first 15 minutes, this would have been it, a refusal by someone who is bereaved of a beloved to recognize the tragedy. (Ozon, I understand, interviewed grief counselors to study bereavement to prepare for the film). The first 15 minutes however add another layer, of doubting whether he simply disappeared because she has bored him so, as suggested by the mother-in-law.

Words film critics used to describe this film include unsentimental, restrained, simple, ruminative. Charlotte Rampling's performance has been universally hailed by critics as one of her best. They are right. Watching Rampling in this film is quite a mesmerizing experience.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Classy, understated drama, 15 December 2001
Author: hesketh27 from Southport Lancashire Uk

Charlotte Rampling's marvellously judged performance as an Englishwoman whose French husband disappears whilst swimming is quite simply excellent. This is a perfect vehicle for Rampling as she is now, a beautiful mature woman who just oozes class. Without histrionics, she conveys the total sense of desperation at the loss of her husband, something which she will obviously never come to terms with. In terms of plot, this film is quite thin, but it is well worth watching for the central performance, which is thoroughly moving. Could be very bleak and depressing as a subject, but actually isn't at all. The time passed very quickly - my ultimate test of a good film!

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14 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Charlotte Rampling can't be here now, 15 September 2003
Author: dbdumonteil

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Before the very-acclaimed "8 femmes", François Ozon drew the attention with this beautiful but bleak movie. Indeed, the main topic is the disappearance of a human being and the close relatives' behavior faced with this situation.

The disappearance of a loved person is something very painful for his (or her) close relatives because we don't know the truth about this disappearance (look at the Manic Street Preachers with Richey Edwards' disappearance on the 1st of February 1995). To tackle this delicate topic, François Ozon chose a sober making. There aren't many dialogs and Ozon's focusing especially on the expression of the actors' faces and gestures. He also achieved a feat: he never reveals the truth about Jean's disappearance. On the contrary, the characters' opinion are diverging and creating a confusion in the spectator's mind. Even the relationship between Jean and Marie remains ambiguous: they never communicate themselves signs of love.

Moreover, I think that Charlotte Rampling's behavior is like Joe Dallessandro's one in Walerian Borowczyk's movie "la marge" (1976). It means that at the beginning, she wants to ignore the drama and decides to carry on living as if Jean were still alive. But little by little and in the long run, she realizes the bleak truth.

As for the last sequence, it isn't here to relieve the spectator. It ends a sober and moving movie that shows Ozon's talent.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
If you think you might like this you probably will., 15 October 2001

Author: moovyfellow from Kansas City

I disagree with a few comments below: first, I believe it 'is' appropriate to switch back and forth between French and English because the character is an english literature professor in Paris and has bilingual friends; second, I feel it is unfair of anyone to characterize the main character as elderly, she is sensual, attractive, and tentatively has a good life to live in her future. I think the loss to the woman of her husband is like suddenly confronting the loss of the last 25 years of her life. To be able to cope with this changed reality she must cautiously explore a new experience; she is afraid to let go of her past and afraid to take hold of a future. I believe at the end of the movie we are shown that she will continue to refuse to relinquish the past, yet, invariably, it is shown to her that she must go on, embracing the present, as must we all.

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13 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
A Lesson in Not Getting Real, 18 January 2002

Author: Richard French (rlejoef@aol.com) from Studio City

Probably the best thing about director Francois Ozon's Sous le Sable (Under the Sand) is the re-emergence of sultry British actress Charlotte Rampling in the film's lead role. Having started out in the mid-60s, Rampling was beginning to appear in some rather offbeat, kinky films by the early 70s, such as the incestuous "Tis Pity She's a Whore" and the sado-masochistic "Night Porter." And though she's worked steadily since that time in various film and television roles, to my knowledge, Rampling hasn't had a lead role in a film for quite a few years. And it's good to see her in such fine form. She has always been a competent, attractive actress with an air of intrigue about her. So, here she is as Marie Drillon, a deluded widow who takes living in denial to new heights. Overwhelming evidence suggests that Marie's husband has drowned while swimming, yet she continues to speak of him as if he were alive and has conversations with him when he frequently appears in her apartment. It's a moderately interesting premise, though the pace of the film is a bit slow. As the story progresses, figuring out whether Mr. Drillon committed suicide or died accidentally becomes the focus of the plot. And for a while, it keeps you guessing by revealing small pieces of the puzzle. But the real matter at hand is Marie herself and the outcome of her delusional condition. She seems to make progress at times, especially when she starts dating a gentleman whom her best friend has recommended; yet she continues to struggle emotionally and psychologically.

Ultimately, one is most likely left with an uneasy feeling about poor Marie, and the film would have been more positive and probably stronger if her character could have fostered or conveyed a greater sense of growth. Even so, the film is above average, and Rampling turns in an excellent performance. And if nothing else, one is reminded that not all things in life can be neatly resolved or easily accepted; we choose either to grow, overcome the blows and take responsibility for the quality of our lives or we suffer the consequences.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Mental illness as a lifestyle option, 17 August 2001

Author: schlockingly_true from Chicago

Mental illness as a lifestyle option seems to be the theme of this work. Very potent in examining the reality and meaning of loss and acceptance (or lack thereof). The always captivating Charlotte, (great to see Dirk Bogarde's little girl all growed up) looking elegant as a woman of a certain age in a very Anglo-Parisian sheath dress-wearing kind of way, is wonderful in her ability to convey contained confusion struggling to make sense of a pain too great to bear. Also noteworthy, stylistically, is a rare instance of unease being effectively evoked in spite of sunlit sets and daytime outdoor shots. No doom and gloom here, she gets to suffer in the light of day. A film that will remain with the moviegoer long after viewing because of its painful emotions and its visually powerful final shot.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
realistic, but magical - a masterpiece, 1 August 2001

Author: Peter Marklund from USA

I don't quite understand comments about the movie being slow. To me it was quite unpredictable and it maintained suspense throughout. The acting was very good and what struck me the most was how the movie was able to strike a realistic balance in everything, that was almost eerie. Indeed that is what made the movie so convincing to me. What also fascinates me is that even though the movie was realistic it was magical . I guess the real world is a magical place :-)

Bottom line: go see it!

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Phantom Limb Pains, 20 November 2006

Author: zolaaar from Berlin, GER

The death of a beloved person implies also a big loss, a loss which dependents refuse to believe.

Director Ozon flurries and unsettles the viewer again. It begins with the cut right after the vanishing of Marie's (Charlotte Rampling) husband Jean. It's summer. The married couple apparently enjoys their vacation at the sea. Suddenly, Jean disappears and the search of the police remains without a result. Cut! Marie sits with friends at a table, ostensibly in a flashback, outside it's winterly, Marie tells from Jean, who is waiting at home. She goes shopping and buys some clothing items for Jean. However, by and by, the viewer realizes, that this is not a flashback: It is the time after Jean's vanishing and Marie lives on as if nothing has happened.

The film concentrates only on Marie and her denial of reality, her non-acceptance of the loss, which goes so far, that she i. e. sees Jean in the door while she sleeps with another man, Vincent. Jean remains ubiquitous in Marie's life, he is always there and only disappears in a few scenes when reality comes in her life for a second. He is also present in the character of Vincent, whom she replaces with her missing husband, talks to him and treats him as if it was Jean.

That's why the film takes place in Charlotte Rampling's face, who shows a fantastic performance: She appears in every scene, her mimics symbolize the whole suffering of Marie. In clear, calm shots Ozon glances at the emotional recovery of his protagonist. Behind her chilly facade, Rampling only forebodes the psychological precipice of her figure and screens the film from flying out into melodrama. Rampling is the undoubted highlight, the highlight of a film which leaves behind an unsettled viewer.

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