François Ozon is revealing himself as one of France’s most interesting filmmakers. The brazen director of Swimming Pool and 8 Femmes has a playful tone even at his most serious. While the title has a je ne sais quoi, the story of a failed relationship is no laughing matter.

We meet Gilles and Marion the day they sign their divorce papers. It’s a simple scene, a two-shot without bitterness or acrimony. In fact, the ink isn’t yet dry and the former couple are undressing in a cheap hotel room. The assignation doesn’t end well, but suggests their shared experience once had promise. Next scene and the unhappily married couple are negotiating a dinner party; next scene and Marion is giving birth to their son, and so forth. Or back, as Ozon’s ironic take on affairs of the heart continues to reveal themselves in reverse. In the penultimate scene events occur that will inform events we have already seen. Armed with information that his characters are not, we know their future and wonder at the futility of their past.

5x2 is a distressing but strangely uplifting tale that celebrates moments of joy through knowing their eventual misfortune. It is an effective tool and Ozon plays with the construct to sizeable effect. The start (and therefore end) is solid, cold, unmoving. The end (beginning) is brightly hued, warm and kinetic, and his players actually seem to get younger as their story grows more hopeful. Another irony that Ozon must have enjoyed. And like Irreversible, it helps that such a sad story can end on a happy note.

// COLIN FRASER