“French director François Ozon wanders into unconventional territory with Frantz, his astonishingly beautiful and inquisitive remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s Broken Lullaby, using it as a springboard for a profound look at alienation and grief. Ozon captures much of the original movie’s strengths while broadening its themes, launching into richer territory with his most polished storytelling achievement.
“Largely set in the small German mountain town of Quedlingburg, the mostly black-and-white Frantz takes place in 1919, where a young woman named Anna quietly mourns her late fiancé of the title, who died in World War I. Paula spends most of her time fending off advances from another local man and visiting Frantz’s grave site. It’s here that she comes across the mysterious Adrien who claims to be Frantz’s longtime friend from Paris.
“But Adrien’s not providing the whole story about his relationship to Frantz, a twist that anyone familiar with the source material already knows, and Ozon doesn’t mess with it. Instead, he uses a revelation and confrontation between Adrien and Anna, who has begun to develop feelings for him, to launch the narrative into a fascinating third act in which she takes control of the situation.” - IndieWire
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