In a film radically removed from his past works, Francois Ozon again proves that he is one of the brightest lights of recent French cinema. Marie (Charlotte Rampling) and Jean (Bruno Cremer) are living out their middle age, comfortable and satisfied. During a holiday at their summer house, Jean goes for a swim in the ocean from which he never returns. As the months go by and in spite of her apparent bravery Marie, ever more reclusive, refuses to accept that Jean is gone forever. Only when wooed by a charming publisher does she allow herself to rediscover her emotions, her sexuality and herself, while remaining convinced that Jean is alive. UNDER THE SAND is a wonderful cinematic experience, the youthful exuberance of Ozon's earlier work here replaced by a wistful maturity: profound, subtle and evoking a deep sense of pain.