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See the Sea

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See the Sea

Released Dec 3, 1997

52m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

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100%

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10 Reviews

72%

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1,000+ Ratings

Sasha (Sasha Hails) is a young British woman who lives with her infant daughter in a cottage on the beach. Tatiana (Marina de Van), a strange and hostile young woman, knocks on her door. The campsites are full, she says, and she needs to pitch her tent on Sasha's large yard. Sasha resists at first, but, after Tatiana's forceful insistence, she relents and allows the stranger to set up camp in her yard. They soon develop an odd rapport, but a vague sense of menace hangs in the air.

Amy Taubin

Village Voice

All the more effective for its economy, See the Sea is exactly the length it needs to be.

Jan 1, 2000

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

There is a simple situation, involving two women and a baby at an isolated beach cottage, and yet the possibilities are many, and we speculate about first one outcome, then another.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A-

Jun 7, 1998

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Brandon Judell

HuffPost

You'll never look at a toothbrush with a lack of wariness again.

Mar 17, 2017

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Ozon subtly lets on that something is not quite right here, but keeps us utterly in the dark until the final shocking images.

May 26, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 17, 2005

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Dave S

In Francois Ozon’s feature debut (‘feature’ is probably a stretch since the movie only runs a shade over fifty minutes) See the Sea, a young woman finds herself alone with her infant daughter on a remote vacation island, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her husband who is away on business. When a forceful young woman shows up requesting consent to pitch a tent on the property, things begin to take an unexpected turn. Smartly written with a pair of genuinely interesting characters, See the Sea establishes a sense of foreboding almost from the first shot and subtly but effective ratchets up the tension from that point, all leading to the shocking but almost foreseeable final couple of scenes. It is definitely worth a watch, with the added bonus that if you don’t like it, you haven’t wasted much time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/21/24

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StephenPaul C

The greatest 52 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

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Audience Member

The greatest 52 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

Unforgettable and perfect.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

That was a weird experience; Hails's sexiness, beauty, and naive sapphic desire is jarringly offset by de Van's coprophilia and morbidity. Some part of me was hoping the movie was about the former, while another part was just waiting for the latter to pay off. Kinda disappointed in the outcome, but it was an interesting journey nonetheless.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Once again, Ozon explored sexuality and suspension of the humanity. It's an erotic drama that has many depths. It's short but it gives you an uneasy feeling constantly. Nothing was explicitly shown but you could see the symbolism straightaway. The baby was really cute by the way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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François Ozon

Director

Sasha Hails

Sasha

Marina de Van

Tatiana

Samantha

Sioffra, The Baby

Paul Raoux

Sasha's Husband

Nicolas Brevière

Actor

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Synopsis

Sasha (Sasha Hails) is a young British woman who lives with her infant daughter in a cottage on the beach. Tatiana (Marina de Van), a strange and hostile young woman, knocks on her door. The campsites are full, she says, and she needs to pitch her tent on Sasha's large yard. Sasha resists at first, but, after Tatiana's forceful insistence, she relents and allows the stranger to set up camp in her yard. They soon develop an odd rapport, but a vague sense of menace hangs in the air.

Director: François Ozon
Producer: Olivier Delbosc, Nicolas Brevière
Screenwriter: Marina de Van, Sasha Hails, François Ozon
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
Production Co: Local Films, Fidélité Films
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 3, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.3K
Runtime: 52m

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