Monday Night Film Series: Frantz

In the aftermath of World War I, a young German woman mourning the death of her fiancé forms a bond with a mysterious Frenchman visiting her beloved’s grave. Telling a familiar tale of love, remembrance, grief, and mourning in new and surprising ways, Frantz is a brilliant addition to the filmography of François Ozon (The New Girlfriend, Potiche).

The war has just ended and Anna (Paula Beer) is still living with Frantz’s parents, who are shattered over their son’s death. Meanwhile, the citizens of Anna’s small German town are just beginning to emerge from the shadow of the war.
Spying a stranger laying a bouquet of roses on Frantz’s grave one day, the quietly grieving Anna is both surprised and intrigued. Hesitantly, the visi­tor reveals he is a French soldier, but with the horrors of the war still so raw in everyone’s minds, the small community makes it clear he’s not welcome among them.

Adrien (Pierre Niney, Yves Saint Laurent, Romantics Anonymous) soon reveals he knew Frantz prior to the war, as the two became fast friends over their shared love of art and music. Anna and Frantz’s parents eventually warm to the sensitive Frenchman, grateful for the chance to revive a connection to Frantz. But despite Adrien’s initial charms, his past slowly reveals itself to be more mysterious and murky than it seems.

Frantz | Monday Night Film Series | Tilley Hall, Room 102, UNB Campus | October 9, 2017 – 7:30pm | See full schedule