Unter dem Sand (2000)

Unter dem Sand: Directed by François Ozon. With Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart. When her husband goes missing at the beach, a female professor begins to mentally disintegrate as her denial of his disappearance becomes delusional.

“Mr. Ozon seems to understand a womanu0026#39;s pysche pretty well. This movie shows the impact of disappearance of a loved one suddenly u0026amp; without any sense of closure. The bereaved wife, Marie (played perfectly by the gorgeous Ms. Rampling) seems to be doing alright on the surface except for a few comments at a get together which make the viewers feel that she is having a hard time talking about her husband in past tense. We are a bit alarmed but thatu0026#39;s the extent of it. However, when she returns to her home, we realize the utter u0026amp; extreme denial that fills every aspect of her life! It is horrifying u0026amp; saddening. That a beautiful, intelligent woman can have such a reaction is a clear reminder to us of humanityu0026#39;s fragility u0026amp; vulnerability when it comes to love. Losing a loved one is never easy. However, since humans are rational beings, it becomes much harder to come to terms with such a great loss in the absence of any plausible reason. So, not knowing exactly what happened to her husband was perhaps the biggest source of grief for Marie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a very sincere look into the mind of a woman who seems to have lost a part of herself with the loss of her spouse. But I struggled with understanding the two men in Marieu0026#39;s life. Her husbandu0026#39;s intentions were never fully revealed u0026amp; Iu0026#39;m kind of okay with that because thatu0026#39;s the point of the story. However, the one that I really have a problem with is Vincent. Why this charming u0026amp; intelligent man got involved with Marie when she was not in a good place mentally is beyond me!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie has brought an epiphany to me. We must always consider the possibility that even though we may be perfectly happy u0026amp; content with someone, things may not be so good for them. And when we love that someone, it may become extremely hard for us to let go or even to understand how they could be unhappy in such a fulfilling relationship. But such is human nature. Sometimes, having been in long relationships, people evolve in different directions such that one partner may be very happy with the routine stuff while the other may be getting suffocated. One manu0026#39;s medicine is another manu0026#39;s poison, after all! And so, it may happen that one fine day, our loved one may want to walk out on us u0026amp; while it may hurt us, it might be their only salvation! We also need to consider the fact that some people may just be depressed u0026amp; at that point, it is pretty much out of our hands. All we can do in such circumstances is to be supportive u0026amp; hope for the best.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLastly, this is one of those movies where you cannot have a spoiler in a review because the ending scene is open to everyoneu0026#39;s personal interpretation u0026amp; for that, you need to see it yourself!”