‘Sous le sable‘ (English title ‘Under the Sand‘), made in 2000, is one of the films that marked the rise of François Ozon and positioned him as one of the most important French directors of his generation (the new New Wave of the late 90s and early 2000s). Seen now, from the perspective of 2023, it seems to me to be one of those films that doesn’t lose anything over time, but instead matures and ages beautifully, thanks to its artistic quality and a topic that doesn’t erode over time. It is a film about dealing with the disappearance of a loved one and loneliness, about reality and what we build in the imaginary to protect ourselves from the tragedies of reality. Much of the film’s vibrancy is due to the superb performance of Charlotte Rampling, an actress who proved with this film back in 2000 that she was still relevant in her 35th year of career. Now, more than 20 years later, we know that she is one of those actresses who knew how to cross all ages and create exceptional roles at all stages of her career. The one from ‘Sous le sable‘ is one of them.
Jean and Marie are a childless Parisian couple in their 50s. In the opening scenes of the film, we see them traveling in their car to the holiday home by the sea where they will spend a vacation, probably part of their annual routine. We see them being so used to each other after 25 years of marriage, knowing each other well, communicating with few words, more with looks and gestures, still tender towards each other, yet she seems more tender than him. The next day, on an almost deserted beach, she tans and falls asleep in the sun while he prepares to enter the sea. When she wakes up, he has disappeared without a trace. It was as if the sand or the sea had swallowed him. Searches return no results. The world of the woman remained alone suddenly changes. Back in Paris, Marie refuses to accept that Jean has disappeared. Months passed, she resumed her work as an English teacher at the university, started going out with friends, and even began a relationship with another man. For her, however, Jean lives, and she says this with conviction to everyone around her. At night she meets him in the deserted house, talks and consults with him, even buys him gifts. The advices of friends and the insistence of the new lover to accept the loss are in vain. Even when a body turns up that is hard to identify, but still has enough signs that it could be Jean’s, she refuses to confirm. Delusional refusal? Desperate hope?
The effect of the film derives from the refusal of melodrama. We can call Ozon‘s style minimalist, but it is a minimalism with depth, which refuses rhetoric. Marie, the heroine of the film, lives one of the worst nightmares that can happen to someone. The way she deals with pain and loneliness is different from that classic ‘reconciliation with fate’. Accepting the unacceptable would mean a sentence that Marie refuses to sign, and it doesn’t matter if this is a conscious decision or comes from within her, nor if those around her judge her as a troubled person, pity her or try to help her according to norms. Charlotte Rampling dominates this movie. She was around 54 years old when ‘Sous le sable‘ was made. There are scenes where Marie looks exactly her age, others where she looks 30 years old and others where she looks 70 years old. It’s a mid-career role that is a kind of synthesis of the ages of this longevive actress. François Ozon shows in this film, as he does in many of the films that will follow, a deep understanding of his heroes and manages to bring to the screen not only the experiences but also the perceptions and the way they see the world. The camera is not always an objective witness in his films and this is also the case in ‘Sous le sable‘. The meeting between the raising director and the established actress in a formidable maturity role takes place at the peak.