In ihrem Haus (2012)
6KIn ihrem Haus: Directed by François Ozon. With Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner. A high school French teacher is drawn into a precocious student’s increasingly transgressive story about his relationship with a friend’s family.
“For his thirteenth feature film, French New Wave director Francois Ozon has outdone all acclaim given to his 2002 remake of u0026quot;8 Womenu0026quot; with a mischievous and dysfunctional tale, of what can be perceived as coming-of-age. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA black comedy conflated with so much grandeur from literary greats to post-modern poioumena, you cannot help but wave the white flag and just go along in service of jest and sheer curiosity.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdapted from a brilliant play written by Juan Mayorgo, this film is a meta-narrative centered on Claude Garcia (Ernst Umhauer) — a sixteen year old loner who intrudes upon the home life of fellow student Rapha Jr., and writes about it. What begins as a one-off weekend assignment for literature class, escalates with great passion and frequency when Claudeu0026#39;s teacher, Germaine (Fabrice Luchini) detects flashes of talent and decides to groom the teenager.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHere, Ozon proposes a three-fold narrative weaving through the surface of three realities — Germaineu0026#39;s growing obsession with Claudeu0026#39;s story imitates the viewersu0026#39; relationship with Ozonu0026#39;s film (and perhaps soap opera addiction), and Claude as a self-conscious narrator of the events occurring inside Raphau0026#39;s house.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the film begins, Claude is unhappy with a lonely life and clearly needs to distract himself with wholesome family warmth. Having witnessed Raphau0026#39;s close relationship with parents Rapha Sr. and Esther at the school gate, strikes a friendship with the boy when semester begins. Establishing himself as a math tutor and study mate, Claude quickly wins their affection and trust. Thrilled by this opportunity to experience life with a sense of belonging, yet predisposed to primitive urge, Claudeu0026#39;s desire swells into furtive yearning for Esther. And naturally, things get complicated.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs Germaineu0026#39;s involvement with Claudeu0026#39;s writing departs from passive reader, to that of a story-telling coach superimposing rules of dramatic structure, it occurs to the viewer that he may very well be a shaping hand in the outcome of this voyeuristic experiment. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOf course, the fabrics of fiction and reality overlap but they do not confuse — the satirical logic unfolds in ways that are thought- provoking, humorous and downright captivating.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ecinemainterruptus.wordpress.com”
