Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes (1999, France)

Starring Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi and Ludivine Sagnier; directed by Francois Ozon and adapted from a play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The subtitled version in the English language is titled Water Drops on Burning Rocks.

Made in 1999, this French film with US English sub titles is a study in degradation told through the story of Franz, a young drifter, just embarking on a relationship with Leopold, a successful middle aged businessman. The film opens with Franz's seduction in Leopold's flat and initially the relationship appears caring and supportive. However, as the young man falls under Leopold's spell, so the film explores how an unscrupulous person can manipulate and subjugate the innocent. After a long enough period for the nature of the relationship to become obvious, Anna, Franz's ex girlfriend, comes to the flat hoping to take Franz back to normality but the early return of Leopold from a business trip brings all three characters face to face. This meeting results in Anna being swept up in the new sexual excitement which she sees in the older man and this opportunity for Franz's redemption is lost.

A healthy dose of reality eventually comes to the screen with the arrival of the final member of the cast whose relationship with Leopold started many years earlier in much the same way as Franz's. In order to appease Leopold's ever greater need to degrade his partner, we discover that this old flame, Lena, was a man who went through the full transsexual transformation in Casablanca and turned to prostitution in a vain attempt to retain Leopold's interest. This tale brings Franz to his senses and he finds his own way of bringing the relationship with Leopold to a conclusion.

As a study of human frailty, this is a fine screenplay which reminds us that complex and difficult issues can still be dealt with in 90 minutes, on a low budget and with simple sets. A well made film with sharp characterization and fine acting, set entirely in Leopold's flat which is itself a parody of 70s style.

To finish on a personal note, I find it difficult to separate my respect for the film as a work of art from the stereotyping of the transsexual. As a transsexual myself, I may not be the most disinterested observer but I objected to the use of this as a theatrical device to represent a state of degradation to which one of the characters is reduced when so many other ways of achieving the same end could have been used. That some people may be driven down such a path may perhaps be the case, but the representation of the transsexual in this way is very unhelpful to what I see as a misunderstood and often vilified group of people. While the character is presented in the film as a transsexual, he of course is not. He has adopted the physical characteristics of a woman simply to appease a lover and not through personal conviction. I regret that this distinction is likely to be lost on the casual observer.

Review provided by Lindsay Warner, November 2000.

The gender-reassigned former boyfriend is played by a woman, Anna Levine.

HF January 2003

This Page: Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brülantes Return to Alphabetical Index Page Return to Home Page

Hazel Freeman's International Transgender Film Guide is maintained by

Jenni Olson

and hosted at

Visitors from the US and Canada can help support this site by shopping for LGBT DVDs using this WolfeVideo.com affiliate link. The commission we earn from your purchases will directly support the continued existence of this website. Thank you!