Ozon's Transgressive Triple: Sitcom Criminal Lovers and Water Drops on Burning Rocks

Sitcom (1998)

A seemingly normal French family is turned into sex-crazed, murderously uninhibited maniacs, thanks to bites from a pet rat that the father brings home one day, in this outrageous, taboo-breaking dark comedy from François Ozon. Evelyne Dandry, Marina de Van star. 80 min. In French with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Criminal Lovers (1999)

François Ozon ("See the Sea") adds a new layer to his brand of stylish perversity in this kinky tale of a teenager named Alice who persuades high school classmate Luc into killing a fellow student whom she claims raped her. After the altercation, the teens flee, landing in a forest where they’re trapped in a cabin by a bearded woodman with diabolical plans for both of them. Jeremie Renier and Natacha Regnier star. 96 min. In French with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Water Drops On Burning Rocks (1999)

Based on a play by R.W. Fassbinder, this film from France’s François Ozon ("Under the Sand") mixes comedy and tragedy as it focuses on Léopold, a 50-year-old swinger, who picks up the 19-year-old Franz and considers seducing him in his apartment. The two soon start a relationship that becomes more complex when the unusual women in Léopold and Franz’s life enter the picture. Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier, and Anna Thomsen star. 82 min. In French with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Widescreen; Soundtracks: French; Subtitles: English; audio commentary; featurettes; theatrical trailers. In French with English subtitles.