damn those trailers .
had it not been for the advertising of this film , which reveals far too much about its contents , i would have been glued to ` under the sand ' . as it is , the film retains some value , thanks to an excellent performance by charlotte rampling , and a more mature francois ozon in the director 's chair .
marie ( charlotte rampling ) and her husband jean ( bruno cremer ) lounge on the beach .
she takes a nap while he goes for a swim .
when marie wakes up , jean is nowhere to be found .
she contacts authorities , but they ca n't find him either .
did he disappear to start a new life ?
was he killed by accident ?
did he commit suicide ?
marie still asks herself these questions a year later , and in order to move on with her life , she must find some answers .
it 's a fine premise , and this little movie uses it to the limit .
the film moves at a leisurely pace , a bit slow , but relaxing .
it 's a very visual story , and you can pretty much just sit back without reading the subtitles .
this is mostly thanks to the excellent camera work
by antoine heberle and jeanne lapoirie , who shot the film in a dreamy haze , and the lead performance by rampling .
rampling is so expressive in her portrayal of marie , you connect with her character instantly , despite that she 's delusional .
the scenes where she interacts with her husband , who she still believes is alive , are heartbreaking .
she ca n't quite get over him .
they 've been married for twenty - five years .
the other actors , particularly jacques nolot , are excellent too .
the sex in the film is rather unneeded , but compared to ozon 's ` criminal lovers ' , it 's the disney channel .
likely to cause some discussion afterwards , ` under the sand ' is a fine movie going experience .
while it 's hard to recommend as entertainment , it 's a fine adult alternative about how we deal with loss .
ozon seems to ask what you would do , and that 's certainly a hard question to answer .
a more mature so expressive in her portrayal are excellent too excellent camera work is a fine movie going experience heartbreaking an excellent performance a fine adult alternative