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Criminal Lovers

Original title: Les amants criminels
  • 1999
  • TV-MA
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
Natacha Régnier and Jérémie Renier in Criminal Lovers (1999)
Modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel. After committing a murder, a young couple on the run find refuge in a remote cottage in the woods, where they become trapped by the perverse hermit who lives there.
Play trailer0:40
1 Video
15 Photos
CrimeDramaHorrorThriller

Modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel. After committing a murder, a young couple on the run find refuge in a remote cottage in the woods, where they become trapped by the perverse hermit who... Read allModern retelling of Hansel and Gretel. After committing a murder, a young couple on the run find refuge in a remote cottage in the woods, where they become trapped by the perverse hermit who lives there.Modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel. After committing a murder, a young couple on the run find refuge in a remote cottage in the woods, where they become trapped by the perverse hermit who lives there.

  • Director
    • François Ozon
  • Writers
    • François Ozon
    • Marcia Romano
    • Annabelle Perrichon
  • Stars
    • Natacha Régnier
    • Jérémie Renier
    • Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    4.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • François Ozon
    • Writers
      • François Ozon
      • Marcia Romano
      • Annabelle Perrichon
    • Stars
      • Natacha Régnier
      • Jérémie Renier
      • Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic
    • 47User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
    • 59Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 0:40
    Official Trailer

    Photos15

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    Top cast63

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    Natacha Régnier
    Natacha Régnier
    • Alice
    Jérémie Renier
    Jérémie Renier
    • Luc
    Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic
    Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic
    • L'homme des bois
    • (as Miki Manojlovic)
    Salim Kechiouche
    Salim Kechiouche
    • Saïd
    Yasmine Belmadi
    • Karim
    Bernard Maume
    • Le professeur
    Jean-Louis Debard
    • Le gardien de nuit
    Catherine Vierne
    • La vendeuse de bijoux
    Marielle Coubaillon
    • L'hôtesse du supermarché
    Olivier Papot
    • Le policier
    Gil Demurger
    Gil Demurger
    • Le GIGN
    • (as Gil de Murger)
    Agnès Accaria
    Ranzi Adjeri
    Brigitte Albuquerque
    Martihino Albuquerque
    Nicolas Albuquerque
    Myriam Aubert
    Anne-Laure Borel
    • Director
      • François Ozon
    • Writers
      • François Ozon
      • Marcia Romano
      • Annabelle Perrichon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews47

    6.44.6K
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    Featured reviews

    8fertilecelluloid

    Complexity presented simply

    It all looks simple, but what is going on in CRIMINAL LOVERS is complex. Ozon is adept at conveying the shifts in our emotions and clearly enjoys exploring our conflicted natures.

    Sexy Alice (Natacha Regnier), a manipulator of men, coerces the sexually uncertain Luc (Jeremie Renier) into murdering the handsome Said (Salim Kechiouche). Although getting rid of the body proves problematic, the couple's real problems begin when they take refuge in an old cottage in the forest.

    The owner of the cottage is Karim (Yasmine Belmadi), an odd fellow who develops a fondness for Luc and a hatred for Alice. Perhaps Alice is his competition? The film explores fascinating sexual territory, and even reminded me, tonally, of Japanese pink films such as WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED and CAPTURED FOR SEX 2.

    Ozon embraces the provocative subject matter with supreme confidence and never recoils from its inherent darkness. The erotic tension remains taut throughout and the performances are beautifully balanced.

    The photography is subdued but stylish and the forest setting echoes "Hansel and Gretel".

    There is great intelligence behind this adult fairytale and a willingness to explore sexuality and desire that is never hampered by the stench of political correctness that handicaps so much "edgy" material these days.
    dbdumonteil

    Ozon rules!

    When I was a child ,"Hansel und Gretel" used to scare me to death.Even if they finally succeed at escaping from the clutches of the witch,some fears never fade away.The fear of the unknown forest where any person can be an enemy.The fear of unknown people you meet in the dark corners of the streets .The fear of being kidnapped and taken away far from your family.

    When I saw "les amants criminels " for the first time ,I had the same sensation as when I read the fairytale ;rarely,I felt so ill-at-ease ,in need of fresh air :Ozon's sinister tale stirred my emotions ,my subconscious,some of my childhood fears that never went away.There are a lot of hints at childhood here:outside the Grimm tale,the heroine's name is Alice (on the other side of the mirror),and the scene near the cascade ,in its quietness, where the two lovers are surrounded by animals ,recalls some Disney movie.

    And mainly ,mainly ,Ozon ,among only a few contemporary directors, has completely understood Hitchcock's great lesson:expect the unexpected .After their crime,the two lovers start out ,as Janet Leigh did in 1960,and I dare you to guess what will happen then!

    Ozon is the most gifted contemporary French director.
    Brandy-28

    Wonderful!!!!

    *****MOVIE SPOLIERS******

    I'm sorry - I love French movies. They don't hold anything back.

    Nudity - Horror - they show everything.

    I really think the reason Luc agreed that he would kill Said was because he was mad at him for going after that Bitch Alice instead of him. I really feel Luc was in love with Said. That's why he was so sad when he caught Alice and him together. Watch the part when Luc is killing Said, you get see how big Said's penis is. Man oh Man. It just lays there against his thigh. Nice.

    Then, when they were trapped in the Hermit's house, when he got jerked off and then ultimately _ _ cked by this Hermit, he finally understood his feelings for men. Watch the end and watch the anger when the Hermit is caught. "Let him go, he didn't do anything wrong"

    Fun and interesting movie.
    7mattfloyd-41009

    The Woods Have Their Own Macabre Sense Of Irony

    In 1999, two very different horror films were unleashed onto audiences. Both were postmodern takes on contemporary folklore. Both involved young people getting lost in the woods. Both drew heavily from folktales by the Brothers Grimm. Both were products of their time and thus reflect their respective society's anxieties. Both have notoriously bleak endings. Both were far cries from what the multiplexes were offering. Both were influential in spawning two new modes of storytelling. Yet The Blair Witch Project was heavily marketed as a horror film and remains a landmark in the found footage genre while Criminal Lovers stayed mostly in arthouse theaters due to its frank sexuality as well as its refusal to stay within genre conventions. As a result, Criminal Lovers never got proper attention that it deserves in forming French New Extermity's roots.

    Honestly, the film feels what would happen if you spliced in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre halfway through Badlands. This isn't the only cinematic influence that Criminal Lovers borrows from to tell its certified messed-up tale of doomed lovers running from the law. Echoes of The Night Of The Hunter and Salo are present in the film as the couple go down a river in a boat before being captured by a sadistic man in the woods. Every torturous taboo imaginable is broken to the point that you realize that Hansel and Gretel got off easy compared to what Alice and Luc suffer through.

    That's where the film's strengths lie in its willingness to play with genre conventions and to break the boundaries of good taste. One minute, it's a high school melodrama with murder thrown in for good measure; the next minute, it's a subliminal torture porn that would make Eli Roth run away in complete terror. I won't spoil the horrors but they gave this hardened viewer pause in disbelief.

    This gives Criminal Lovers a much more transgressive artistry than Blair Witch Project ever could- it's a fractured fairy tale as envisioned by a hellish-but-dreamlike collaboration between the Marquis De Sade and Jean-Luc Godard. Even better, you get two fantastic performances from both Natacha Regnier and Jeremie Renier that supply the film with a desperate rawness that's only matched by the young people suffering in Larry Clark's films.
    8nanushka

    Hansel & Gretel meet Delicatessen!

    I can not say that this is a movie for all tastes, but if you feel watching a great classic kind of tale, then go for it! I hope you have a good time and even a few laughs. I really found it funny in some parts... I have to say I liked it very much!

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Alternate versions
      The 2001 DVD release in France from Paramount contains an alternate cut of the film, running 80 mins., which places most of the events into chronological order.
    • Connections
      Featured in John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You: Criminal Lovers (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Symphonie en si mineur pour cordes, Al santo sepulcro - l'adagio
      Music by Antonio Vivaldi (as Vivaldi)

      Performed by Orchestre Symphonique Bel'Arte (as l'orchestre Bell'Arte) au PLUS XXX Studio

      Conducted by Philippe Rombi

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 18, 1999 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Official site
      • Strand Releasing
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Кримінальні коханці
    • Filming locations
      • Blanzat, Puy-de-Dôme, France
    • Production companies
      • Fidélité Productions
      • Arte France Cinéma
      • StudioCanal
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $50,470
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,483
      • Jul 23, 2000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Natacha Régnier and Jérémie Renier in Criminal Lovers (1999)
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