FRANCOIS OZON

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB.  

France, 1998.  Fidélité Productions, StudioCanal, Canal+, Centre National De La Cinematographie.  Screenplay by Francois Ozon.  Cinematography by Yorick Le Saux.  Produced by Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier.  Music by Eric Neveux.  Production Design by Angelique Puron.  Costume Design by Herve Poeydemenge.  Film Editing by Dominique Petrot.

Extremely strange but hilarious tale of a seemingly perfect bourgeois family whose members go bonkers when their father brings home a pet mouse. Innocent at first, the crafty little rodent takes turns bringing out the hidden personalities of all who live in the house, from something as simple as one sibling coming out of the closet to another family member becoming a psychotic killer. Francois Ozon’s direction shows no restraint whatsoever, digging his teeth into this satire on the privileged class and letting all the ridiculousness hang out in full frontal mode. For that reason the film will definitely not be for all tastes, but those looking for something out of the ordinary will want to take a chance.