Germain, an English teacher works at the local high school where he becomes more and more disenchanted with today's youth. Between the school adapting new teaching strategies that baby the students to modern technology making his students less and less likely to read, Germain has grown cold to teaching entirely. All of this changes with the arrival of Claude, a very gifted writer who Germain sees greatness in. Francois Ozon's In The House is a unique and engrossing film exploring the seductions of storytelling and how fiction and fact intermingle in life. The driving force behind the narrative of In The House is Claude, a massive loner, who insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student. Writing about his experiences at his friends house, his essays are what grabs Germain's attention, with much of the narrative unfolding around Claude's perceptions of what goes on in his friends household. Ozon's film is loaded with style, beautifully capturing the inner-workings of this family both through Claude's perception and reality. As the film goes on, the lines becomes increasingly blurred as to what is fact and fiction, with Claude's own imagination taking over. In a way, Ozon's In The House is his ode to storytelling, capturing how perception and reality both play an intricate part in developing "truthful" characters and story dynamics. Ozon's seems to suggest that being a truly great writer goes hand and hand with isolation, as both Claude and Germain become loners, slaves to their wandering minds. No matter how fascinating Ozon's film is, It never really tries to explore the character of Claude. Claude is a child whose very much on his own and I think the film could have gained much more resonance by exploring how his loneliness and isolation molded the person he becomes by the end of the film. While Francois Ozon's In The House is a cleverly structured exploration of storytelling, it lacks the emotional resonance to be something truly special. 7.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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