(Strand Releasing; July 23) The maker: Francois Ozon director and writer The stars: Criminal: Natacha Regnier.(Strand Releasing; July 23) The maker: Francois Ozon director and writer The stars: Criminal: Natacha Regnier, Jeremie Renier, Miki Manojlovic; Water fires: Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi The pitch: Criminal Lover is a grim fairy tale: A straight man and wife Regnier (The Dreamlife of Angels) and Renier, commit a put to death and head into the groves where they fall prey to a menacing hunting-horse with sexual designs on the lad Water Drops, based on an early play by the agency of late gay filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, is about a young scholar (Zidi) who moves in with an senior businessman (Giraudeau). The reason we care: The publicly gay Ozon--who tosses together gay and straight sex violence, and shack issues with abandon--is a director forward the verge. The inside scoop: Ozon's gay-inclusive 1998 first attempt feature, Sitcom, signaled the arrival of a filmmaker who could the pair outrage and amuse, and Strand Releasing copresidont Marcus Hu predicts that the back-to-back arrival of the French director's nearest two features will consolidate his growing reputation. "Re could be the nearest Andre Techine, though he's a portion less conservative and really wild," says Hu "His sensibility is really dark, and he's got a distorted sense of humor that brunts a lot of people." COPYRIGHT 2000 Liberation Publications, Inc. |
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