Frantz. Dir. François Ozon. Mandarin Productions and X-Film Creative Pool, 2017. DVD.
For plot summary and other details: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5029608/.
Setting: 1919, Quedlinburg, Germany
Language: German and French
Subtitles: French and English
Ideas and questions I gathered from the film: To what extent should memories of the front be shared with civilians? Were Adrien and Anna justified in shielding the truth from Frantz’ parents?
One theme: Language as a way to build and break down borders [the bilingualism of Frantz, Anna, and Adrien; references to Verlaine and “Chanson d’automne”; national anthems]. The Humanities (poetry) as soft power, a bridge for compassion.
Why use “Chanson d’automne” and not another French poem? Why not Baudelaire or a more obscure poet? Does Verlaine have a link to World War I? I’m pretty sure “Chanson d’automne” had been used in the Resistance, so is the use of the poem in a World-War-I film meant to echo World War II? Or is the poem simply one that would have been well-known enough to reach Germany in the 1910s?
Another theme: The line between nationalism and patriotism and the way that ambiguity creates hostility toward “others,” especially in a post-war context.
In future viewings, I would like to take better note of the few color scenes to see if there are thematic links to the color v. black/white scenes.
Keywords: nationalism, WWI, civilians, Verlaine, interpersonal relationships