Hideaway (Le Refuge): Critic Reviews

One of the pleasures of Hideaway (Le Refuge), from Francois Ozon, an erratic talent of satisfying films like Under the Sand and misfires like 8 Women, is its insistence on ambiguity.

The pat resolution makes it an incomplete pleasure. A pleasure nonetheless.

Sometimes a movie makes a point that's been made before, but makes it so beautifully and so quietly that it feels like you're discovering it for the first time.

Though the psychological layering and thematic ambition of the screenplay do not quite result in the depth intended, Hideaway's unsentimental performances will hook you.

For a time in her life, a woman's pregnancy is the most important thing about her. That is the subject of Hideaway.

Surely, Ozon had Rohmer in mind when he co-wrote and directed this lovely film.

Hideaway" is a spellbinding film, and Ozon, who is perhaps best known for the much darker Under the Sand and Swimming Pool ... continues to be an inspiring director of actors.

The films of Francois Ozon constantly offer alternative family units and this elusive French drama (originally titled "Le Refuge") offers yet another.

It is undeniable that Ozon has an eye for emotion. His low-fi camerawork and pared-down cinematography keep a beautiful realism surrounding his characters.

So few films are made about pregnancy and childbirth; few discussions are held about it without the phrases 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life' being shouted over the top. The time we spend with the complex Mousse ... allows us to ponder these miracles in full.

An unconvincing ending doesn't derail the otherwise nuanced complexity of Francois Ozon's latest investigation of female alienation, sexuality and maternity.

An elliptical relationship drama that works largely due to the nuanced acting; the nuanced, sumptuous camera work; and the nuanced, gorgeous people on screen.

Gradually, Ozon and the actors convince us of the reality of this world and persuade us to watch the film on its own, unforced terms. Nothing much is happening, except life.

Ozon masks his lack of sensitivity to the material with his characteristic cerebral detachment and pretense to subtlety

See it for the pleasures of watching Carre play a character with no interest in acceptance by anyone - or stay far away.

Hideaway bottles up stormy feelings of grief, guilt, and desire so tightly that register only in a few sharp, impetuous bursts. The rest of the time, it's dull and inscrutable -- a film of almost vaporous subtlety.

Yet for all of the nagging gaps (or narrative short cuts), there's a lot to be said for the camera simply lingering on Carre alone, leaving her to carry the film.

shows a bewitching sense of style, denoting an artist transfixed by the darker and more mysterious chambers of the heart

Pretentious two-hander which aims for behavioral poetry over coherence or true viewer involvement.

There's beaucoup simmering sexual tension, as well as the prolific French director's usual thematic preoccupations: death and grief, familial animosity and female awakening.

Hideaway continues Ozon's brave apostasy that procreation (parenthood) is our nature.

More complex than meets the eye, "Hideaway" is an honest film that commands consideration and discussion after you see it. By all means, see it.

As a pregnant, reforming junkie, Isabelle Carre nurses Francois Ozon's latest rumination on mortality and maternity to success.