2003 Directed by François Ozon
A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.
France 2 Cinéma Canal+ Fidélité Productions Gimages FOZ Headforce Ltd. Focus Features Celluloid Dreams
La piscine, La piscina, 수영장, Басейнът, Bassein, Uima-allas, I pisina, Swimming Pool: juegos perversos, Piscina, Bazen, Havuz, Juegos perversos, Bazén, Η πισίνα, בריכת שחייה, Uszoda, スイミング・プール, აუზი, 스위밍 풀, Basen, Swimming Pool: À Beira da Piscina, Бассейн, Swimmingpool, Басейн, Hồ Bơi Kinh Hoàng, 泳池情杀案, 泳池情殺案, 池畔謀殺案
France
Cannes Film Festival
France
Netherlands12
USAR
Germany12
South Korea18
UK15
Spain
Greece
Sweden7
Netherlands12
Netherlands12
France
Germany
Greece
Netherlands
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
UK
USA
Love how Charlotte Rampling simply says "Désolée, je ne parle pas français" in perfect french just to avoid talking to a dude wearing nothing but an apron
Reality and fantasy intertwine in François Ozon’s Swimming Pool. A thriller baked in sun-soaked promiscuity; it’s film of a Hitchcockian persuasion, held afloat by a daring Charlotte Rampling before eventually drowning in its own absurdity.
A nice little psychological thriller from François Ozon. I do prefer his Jeune et Jolie over this, mostly because I feel that movie has more emotional depth, but Swimming Pool is still very solid. Charlotte Rampling plays the reserved, burned-out novelist well and Ludivine Sagnier is absolutely magnetic.
Mischievous and alluring.
Set in the disquieting serenity of the French countryside, the mystery of Ozon’s psychosexual double-hander is found in the glowing contours of the human body amongst dreamlike domestic and exterior spaces, eviscerating the nature of desire by using the power of subtext to create a world of perverse fantasy, where layers of female sexuality are stripped-back like the methodical peeling of an onion and tension sizzles fiercely under the heat of the summer sun.
Deception has never looked so good and Rampling reigns surpreme.
François Ozon is in a strange and bewildering class all of his own and with this psychosexual drama, the seductive locale is as much a part of the narrative as the characters are and only adds to its blending of reality and fiction.
Charlotte Rampling is, has always been and always will be a treasure.
Move aside Lighthouse! A slow psychological thriller that creeps in before you know how much it has settled into your subconscious — teetering tensions building to something unexpected.
A bestselling mystery novelist is sent to her publisher’s beautiful French le petite ville for some writer’s block inspiration. No longer wanting to write “Hardy Boys” fiction, what unfolds is an exploration into the nature of femininity, youth, sexuality, desire, and fantasy all within the realm of literary intrigue. However, darkness is toiling underneath sunlight kisses and a deep blue pool. Also, boob. Lots of boob.
A wave of Romanesque meanderings and clashing personalities as two women, a surprise visit to the villa by the publisher’s teenage daughter, blend reality with a longing…
Swimming Pool. 2003. Directed by Francois Ozon.
Charlotte Rampling (Sarah Morton) and Ludivine Sagnier (Julie) headline this psychosexual suspense filmed in Luberon, Vaucluse, France (southeastern France). Sagnier’s body is remarkable in the Mediterranean sun and Ozon uses the contours of it by the Swimming Pool to create a world oozing with sexual tension. Sagnier’s sexual promiscuity perturbed Rampling at first. Then, Rampling acquires Sagnier’s diary and begins to use it for her new book without permission.
What is real and what is fantasy in this Hitchcokian world that Ozon has crafted? Sarah wants to get in touch with her younger sexual side (Julie = youthful, beautiful or vivacious) and feel free and beautiful. As a result, this film shows a…
Cinematic Time Capsule
2003 Marathon - Film #56
”You’re just a frustrated English woman who writes about dirty things, but never does them”
Whenever a famous writer tries to “get away from it all” in order to write a new book, you just know there’s gonna be trouble. And Swimming Pool’s no exception.
This Hitchcockian slow boil just keeps on simmering away until all the water’s gone and you’re left staring into its empty pot of ambiguity.
BONUS POINTS for Charlotte Rampling’s ultra-searing intensity, even when downing pints of yogurt or attempting to kick it loose on the dance floor.
”Never judge a book by its cover””
''When someone keeps an entire part of their life secret from you, it's fascinating and frightening.''
A wonderfully constructed little thriller that is evidence of François Ozon playing in his wheelhouse and having a lot of fun with the audience. I was likely bamboozled by its twist when I first watched this in 2003 and had forgotten most of the film as a consequence, so therefore it was great to watch it with fresh eyes some 10 years later and be genuinely surprised at how it all unravelled. Sexy and sharply written with some delicious character's to boot. Ozon always impresses me and Rampling is in top form here.
