Five Times Two (2005)

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Good movie. Serious. I like it. And the scenario is very good. Music is super! i've downloaded soundtrack... By submitting this comment you are agreeing to the terms laid out in our Copyright Statement. Your submission must be your own original work. Your comments will normally be posted on the site within 2-3 business days. Comments that do not meet the guidelines will not be posted. Please write in English only. HTML or boards mark-up is not supported though paragraph breaks will be inserted if you leave a blank line between paragraph. By submitting this comment you are agreeing to the terms laid out in our Copyright Statement. Your submission must be your own original work. Your comments will normally be posted on the site within 2-3 business days. Comments that do not meet the guidelines will not be posted. Please write in English only. HTML or boards mark-up is not supported though paragraph breaks will be inserted if you leave a blank line between paragraph.

Francois Ozon's movies are quickly achieving that reputation of being ambiguous in ending, but poignant and deeply reflective. Right now there are few directors who are allowing themselves to produce features that allow them to move freely within the world of the story, re-configure it, and present it in a new way that may shed light as to what really is taking place, and even if it means anything in particular. It is possible that some audiences will be getting tired by the use of style -- in this case, telling a story backward, a plot device used most notably in Christopher Nolan's smash 2000 debut film MEMENTO. But when you look at it, it's not so much the story as the feeling of irony that keeps getting stronger and stronger until it is a force of nature equivalent to the Category 5 hurricane that destroys a marriage and further inflicts damage by imposing that "one last time" sexual encounter in an anonymous hotel. Maybe Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, heartbreaking and luminous) and Gilles (Stephane Freiss) were never meant to be together in the first place. Their backwards story, so pregnant in what isn't being said, what isn't being expressed, and what the two seem to be going through, is crystal clear: from the get-go, despite that illusion of the Sun setting over the horizon, they were doomed. Something crucial is missing between them -- a something that rears its ugly head in two key moments of their lives. First, the day Marion gives birth to their son. Gilles for some reason cannot be there when she goes into labor nor when she talks on the phone with him after it's all over. Her argument with her parents is only a hint of what we've seen earlier: the crumbling of their marriage in screams and a rape scene. Second, their wedding night, when Gilles falls asleep when he should be enjoying this blissful moment with Marion and has her exiting the hotel, looking for a substitute even when a moral part of her yells at her with exclamation points what she's doing is wrong. In fact, Gilles seems to be sabotaging his chance at happiness at every turn, and it's hard not to see Marion's face subtly change expressions when he tells his brother Christophe and his young lover (late in their marriage, early in the movie) that Marion and he participated in an orgy where he had sex in every possible way. There's just a hint here, that he couldn't see himself living with her. He is, in fact, the person who states that Christophe is headed for disaster with his new lover. Of course, the last blow he inflicts on Marion will be the most painful one (and Ozon never strays from showing it in its ugliness).If only we all could turn back time and go to that perfect moment when all was well under the aegis of the Sun setting over the golden sea.... 5 x 2 makes the viewer wonder what we could do, should we have the power to go back and revisit that tender moment. Another masterpiece of storytelling from Francois Ozon, stark, naked, ugly, but sadly beautiful.

I'm a big fan of French director François Ozon, and every film he releases automatically becomes a must see for me. 5x2 is the story of a relationship told backwards in five stages, from the divorce proceedings to the initial meeting between a couple. Given the way that this story plays out, it's clear that 5x2 isn't exactly a romantic film; as we always know that the relationship is leading into oblivion. The main talking point of this movie is the fact that the story plays out backwards. This type of plot has been used with great success in films like Memento, but despite being seen before; Ozon makes good use of his plotting, and it provides a refreshing take on the common romantic film. There isn't really a plot to speak of, and the focus is kept on the central relationship between the husband and wife. This ensures that Ozon is allowed to develop his characters without being bogged down by plot details, and it ultimately benefits the film as it's potency all rests with the characters of Marion and Giles, both of which are played to perfection by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss.A film like this asks a lot of the performers, and as he's done several times before; Ozon ensures that both are up to the task, and he manages to pull great performances out of both the lead stars. The pair goes through a range of emotions, from happiness to hope and down to despair as the relationship falls apart. These days, it's more common for couples to split up; and this ensures that 5x2 is almost like Casablanca for the modern age. It's a very cynical film, but Ozon is not wrong in his depiction of a doomed relationship. The film is made more complicated by the inclusion of a child between the couple, but as each of the five sections of the film is relatively short in length, not everything is able to be explored and this is the film's main flaw. 5x2 is very French in its style and execution, and it's obvious that the director loves his home country. François Ozon is obviously gay (looking at the rest of his filmography), and even though this film is about a heterosexual relationship, the way that a gay couple is incorporated into the proceedings is very ham-fisted, and doesn't really fit. Still, this is a good film about the destruction of a relationship and overall, a success for the talented director.

It is worth seeing this film both forward and backward. It's interesting how it changes when you see the events "in order".*spoiler alert* When I first saw it, I was inclined to think that Gilles was a total ass and the cause of all the problems with the relation ship. After seeing it again, watching the scenes in backward order some points become clear that make some of his unforgivable actions less hateful.Clearly, he knows that Marion had an affair, and conceived from it. This is why he did not come the the hospital when she is giving birth, and why he left as soon as he see the baby.