Sitcom (film)
Encyclopedia
Sitcom is a 1998
French surrealistic
satire
film written and directed by François Ozon
. The story documents the moral decline of a once esteemed suburban family, whose descent into degeneracy begins with the purchase of a small white rat.
The film's name is a direct reference to American sitcoms, which are noted for their focus on traditional family values and whimsical humour.
The son loudly announces his homosexuality and begins throwing wild orgies, the daughter deliberately flirts with death and practices sadomasochism on her boyfriend (Stéphane Rideau
), while the mother seduces her son so she can "cure" him of his orientation. After the father eventually kills and devours the offending rat, he turns into one himself; when his family discover this, they band together and brutally slay him.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
French surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
film written and directed by François Ozon
François Ozon
François Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....
. The story documents the moral decline of a once esteemed suburban family, whose descent into degeneracy begins with the purchase of a small white rat.
The film's name is a direct reference to American sitcoms, which are noted for their focus on traditional family values and whimsical humour.
Plot
The patriarch of a seemingly normal nuclear family returns home one day with a small white rat. The animal soon has an adverse effect on his wife and children, influencing them into enacting their darkest, most hidden desires.The son loudly announces his homosexuality and begins throwing wild orgies, the daughter deliberately flirts with death and practices sadomasochism on her boyfriend (Stéphane Rideau
Stéphane Rideau
Stéphane Rideau is a French actor born near Agen. Although intending to pursue a career in sports, he was discovered in 1992 at a rugby game and then auditioned for a role in the film Wild Reeds by André Téchiné. He was, at the time, sixteen years old.He would later on play the role of a gay...
), while the mother seduces her son so she can "cure" him of his orientation. After the father eventually kills and devours the offending rat, he turns into one himself; when his family discover this, they band together and brutally slay him.
Possible influences
- In John SchlesingerJohn SchlesingerJohn Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
's notorious film Midnight CowboyMidnight CowboyMidnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
, a mother and her son's deeply concealed sexual frustrations surface after she produces a small, white rubber mouse. - Another inspiration could be Pier Paolo PasoliniPier Paolo PasoliniPier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
's novel, and eventual film, Teorema, which depicts the arrival of a mysterious, unnamed stranger in the home of an upper-class ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
family. He systematically seduces every single member of the dysfunctional household, including the mother, who becomes nymphomaniac as a result, the father, the daughter, whom he leaves in a catatonic state, and the son, who subsequently realises his homosexuality and becomes an artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.