François Ozon's reputation as the 'enfant terrible' of French cinema (Swimming Pool, Under the Sand) inevitably proceeds him. For this reason one oes not anticipate his latest offering to be a run-of-the-mill love story; 5x2 does not disappoint.

It is the story of a failed relationship from the hopeful beginning to the bitter end, but is told in reverse (a technique no doubt influenced by fellow French director Gaspar Noé's Irreversible). 5x2 is broken into five episodes, each one representing a stage in the couple's relationship. It opens with the bleak scene of the two, Gilles and Marion, signing their divorce papers. The following four episodes consist of an uneasy scene from a dinner party, the birth of the couple's son, their wedding day and finally their original meeting.

The fragility of the protagonists' relationship, although essentially intangible, is expertly portrayed. The Italian love songs that make up the interlude between each episode offset and mock this dysfunctional coupling. The fact that so much remains unsaid between the pair, results in this being a cinematic experience with a difference. We interact with Ozon's characters all the more as we sense that we are only scratching the surface of this doomed relationship, and are therefore compelled to fill in the blanks ourselves. Indeed this appears to be Ozon's stimulus, he revealed in an interview that it was his intention that people would 'draw on their own personal experiences' to flesh out the story in their minds.

While this film demands your full attention throughout, it is well worth the effort required. Recommended.

Ann-Marie Gannon and Clare O'Reilly

5x2 is released on 18th March 2005.
www.francois-ozon.com