Sous le sable

Infobox Film
name = Sous le sand


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director = François Ozon
producer = Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier
writer = François Ozon, Emmanuèle Bernheim
narrator =
starring = Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer
music = Philippe Rombi
cinematography = Antoine Héberlé, Jeanne Lapoirie
editing = Laurence Bawedin
distributor =
released = 2001
runtime = 96 minutes
country = FRA
language = French
budget =
preceded_by =
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website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0240913

"Sous le sable" (in English: "Under the Sand") is a 2000 French drama film directed and written by François Ozon. The film was nominated for 8 awards and was critically well received. It stars Charlotte Rampling and Bruno Cremer.

Plot

Marie, a happily married wife of Jean for 25 years is a professor of English literature in a Paris university. During their summer vacation in the southwest of France, Jean goes to swim in the sea while his wife is sunbathing and never returns, vanishing without a trace. No body was ever found and she raises questions. Has he left her? Committed suicide? Drowned? With no body to mourn over she pretends that he is still alive as her life becomes increasingly drowned in enigmatic complexity and emotional disorientation.

Cast

*Charlotte Rampling as Marie Drillon
*Bruno Cremer as Jean Drillon
*Jacques Nolot as Vincent
*Alexandra Stewart as Amanda
*Pierre Vernier as Gérard
*Andrée Tainsy as Suzanne
*Maya Gaugler as German woman
*Damien Abbou as Chief lifeguard
*David Portugais as Young lifeguard
*Pierre Soubestre as Policeman
*Agathe Teyssier as Manager of luxury store
*Laurence Martin as Apartment seller
*Jean-François Lapalus as Paris doctor
*Laurence Mercier as Paris doctor's secretary
*Fabienne Luchetti as Pharmacist

Production

Filming

Initial footage was shot in Paris, France but most of the footage was shot in the Landes department including Lit-et-Mixe, Mimizan-Plage beach and at Saint-Julien-en-Born.

Awards

"Sous le sable" was nominated for Best Film at the César Awards 2002.

Comparison with Truly, Madly, Deeply

The plot of "Sous le Sable" bears some resemblance to that of the 1990 British romantic comedy Truly, Madly, Deeply, although whether this is deliberate is doubtful; the latter is a romantic comedy, whereas "Sous le Sable" is a melancholy drama.

External links

*imdb title|id=0240913|title=Sous Le Sable
* [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/220952/Under-the-Sand/overview NY Times review]