In spite of the strange plot the film is well-done. François Ozon is considered one of the interesting directors in the French cinematography and this film proves it.

The plot is simple. Alice and Luc are young lovers. But Alice wants to taste something forbidden so she contrives a plan and persuade Luc to assist her. She decided to kill her classmate Said and she makes Luc an actual murder. To acheive that she invents a cock-and-tale story that naive Luc believes. Their plan works ok until they bury the body in the forest. Then they got lost and by accident fall into the forester's cabin. But the forester unexpectingly returns and it happens that he witnessed the burial and dug the body out as they find it in the cellar where he had pushed them into.

But this forester was not just a simple bandit. He finds Alice's diary where she describes all her sensitive and erotic experiences and also her plan of murder. The forester understands the problem and he feels pity for Luc. Out of sympathy or anything else he let Luc out of the cellar and plays a with him. He makes out of him a kind of servant and also makes him experience some erotic sensations that Luc never felt before.

One day when the man fall asleep Luc manages to get free with the help of a knife. He let Alice free but when she want to kill the forester He prevents her. “Enough”, exclaims he. So after all we got from his a normal action when all the films he acted like a slime. The scene when Luc is leaving the house, turns and throws a last look at the man and at that moment the man opens his eyes and looks at him — the scene worthy of Pasolini.

This experience really helped Luc to realize himself. After they escaped from the cellar and the cabin they make love for the first time on the shore of the river and really enjoy it. But the happiness is brief: suddenly they hear the noise of hunters, policemen or bandits (I can't say more exactly) and they run. In this hunting they kill Alice and capture Luc and the forester. The last moment is that Luc cries to the gendarmes not to touch the man but nobody listens to him.

The finish is a little bit allegoric of course: the real evil is punished and its agents are captured. But they remain in suspense as we never know what happens to Luc and the man. Perhaps even the men in masks symbolize the unimplorable law or the hazard of hunt: it has many meanings and can be interpreted in many ways and none of them dominates.

This film masterfully done, some scenes are beautiful and almost graphics. The story in the forest is mixed with flashbacks telling how the characters came to this situation. The suspended end is good, the development of Luc's relations with the forester is shown with skill.

The actor's play is very good. The heroes are shown just as they are: strong-willed Alice who just uses her lover and for whom no limits exist and the gradual spiritual development of Luc which happened due to the man. The locations are well chosen: the forest, the cabin or the interiour. The film is made in pastel tones.

The valuable feature of this film is that the expressive means here are movements, sights, landscapes, locations. The words do not really mean much, on the contrary: they destroy and through them the characters perish.

It's a good film that is worth seing especially for the connoisseurs of movies. In spite of the weird theme it is very well done.

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