Beautifully shot nostalgic piece of 'storytelling' as Alexis, a young gay teen, recalls his beautifully tragic 'love story' with an older man, David, in Normandie during the summer of 1984. The film is incredibly self-reflexive in that Alexis' prologue in the opening sequence directly addresses the viewer through eye contact with the camera and this breaking of the fourth wall is done several times through the film. Thus, from the beginning, we are reminded that this is a story - perhaps somewhat a fabrication or exaggeration of events - but are warmly invited by Ozon to take pleasure in this nostalgic retelling of events. The narrative structure is a continuous pivoting back and forth which presents us with the past story as well as the present Alexis trying to free himself from his trauma through his written testimony in the run up to his court hearing.
Ozon builds a sense of nostalgia through costume and picture as well as presenting the act of cinemagoing as an opportunity for magic, dreams and romantic encounters as Alexis & David develop their budding romance through several cinema trips. The film is beautifully shot in terms of its colour palette - there is a lot of blue to reflect the freedom of the sea and the melancholy that the protagonist feels.
In the second half of the film, there is an increased sense of sadness and emotional distraught as Alexis' lover dies in a motorcycle accident and Alexis is desperately trying to 'remember'/construct his testimony of the events which followed. Because of this deliberate 'construction' of memory, we are reminded through Alexis' psychiatrist and teacher that the account could be exaggerated and manipulated somewhat - in this regard, can we believe everything presented to us, particularly the ending scenes? Furthermore, should the viewer be completely complicit in their spectatorship or question some of the underlying issues glossed over like the suggested sexual assault of the drunk guy and the age difference between the two ephemeral lovers (Alexis would have only been 15 when he met 18 year old David).
This is definitely a must-see!
Ozon builds a sense of nostalgia through costume and picture as well as presenting the act of cinemagoing as an opportunity for magic, dreams and romantic encounters as Alexis & David develop their budding romance through several cinema trips. The film is beautifully shot in terms of its colour palette - there is a lot of blue to reflect the freedom of the sea and the melancholy that the protagonist feels.
In the second half of the film, there is an increased sense of sadness and emotional distraught as Alexis' lover dies in a motorcycle accident and Alexis is desperately trying to 'remember'/construct his testimony of the events which followed. Because of this deliberate 'construction' of memory, we are reminded through Alexis' psychiatrist and teacher that the account could be exaggerated and manipulated somewhat - in this regard, can we believe everything presented to us, particularly the ending scenes? Furthermore, should the viewer be completely complicit in their spectatorship or question some of the underlying issues glossed over like the suggested sexual assault of the drunk guy and the age difference between the two ephemeral lovers (Alexis would have only been 15 when he met 18 year old David).
This is definitely a must-see!