Starring Bernard Giraudeau, Anna Thomson, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier
Director Francois Ozon
Category III
In the Germany of the 1970s Leopold (Bernard Giraudeau, below right), a hearty 50-year-old, seduces Franz (Malik Zidi), a 19-year old who is uncertain about his sexuality. Once the novelty and immediate pleasure have passed, Leopold gets bored and starts trying to dominate Franz. But when Franz's buxom girlfriend Anna (Ludivine Sagnier, below left) and Leopold's elegant and enigmatic ex Vera (Anna Thomson) turn up, the situation takes a strange twist.
In Water Drops On Burning Rocks, French director Francois Ozon dips his hat to the late German film-maker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, famous for his films about homosexuality and lovers tortured by mental sadomasochism. Adapted from a Fassbinder play, the film is set into three 'acts', and draws on theatre-like elements such as its stage-like settings - all of which, again, reflect Fassbinder's unique style. Ozon presents a riveting look at the power struggles involved when you play the game of love.
Water Drops On Burning Rocks is screening at Cine-Art House.