While his name has come to be associated with a range of prestige dramas and well-constructed comedies, there was a time when François Ozon was more known for his transgressive, boundary-pushing films that were the embodiment of bad taste in a way that no one else of his generation seemed willing to work. This is perfectly exemplified in Sitcom, his daring dark comedy that centres on an ordinary suburban, middle-class family who begin to fall victim to unprecedented urges, all due to the presence of a small white mouse that unlocks a range of depraved desires in the otherwise idyllic clan. This is an unexpectedly complex work, and one that is mercifully not bizarre for the sake of confusing audiences, but rather carrying a deep and haunting meaning that may take some work to fully understand, but gradually manages to erode at the very strange execution that will bewilder as many viewers as it entices, which is perhaps the most adequate way such a story could have possibly have been produced, since anything less than absolutely deranged would have felt like an enormous lost opportunity – and if there is one quality that Ozon can rarely (if ever) be accused of, its that he doesn’t take every risk available to him. Sitcom demonstrates the director’s more surreal side, and while it may not be the resounding success some other experimental comedies at the time are remembered as being, there is an enormous amount of merit in what the director is doing here, especially for those who can find the courage to simply surrender to the narrative and fully embrace the peculiarity in the way it was intended.

Sitcom is a difficult film to fully describe without giving away its many secrets, since Ozon is a filmmaker who has a lot of fun keeping us in suspense, playfully manipulating our perception as he guides us through this depraved world he is constructing. The best description to start with is to call this film the combination of John Waters and Douglas Sirk, filmmakers who Ozon clearly holds an enormous amount of reverance towards, the former for his incredibly provocative approach to storytelling, the latter for his long career of beautifully complex melodramas, the traces of which can be found in nearly everything the director has done, even those that don’t necessarily seem to be melodramatic in nature. It’s the perfect collision between good taste and bad taste as different parts of the film veering from one side or the other, often in quick succession, which ultimately may cause the viewer to experience some form of tonal whiplash, adding to the strange but alluring nature of the film. It takes a lot of effort to fully comprehend what Ozon is doing here, and some may never fully be able to grasp the message, since the director is making use of over half a dozen different genres, taking fragments from melodrama, dark comedy, romance, horror and several others to form this disquieting familial odyssey, so it can become quite a challenging experience. Yet, the entire purpose of this story (and the manner in which Ozon tells it), is to unsettle and rattle the viewer, with Sitcom being one of the most ferocious and pointed provocations in terms of both form and content produced at the time, laying the groundwork for a renewed interest in the artistic movement in French cinema that would gradually dismantle expectations, all through challenging conventions that were previously considered to be sacrosanct and entirely untouchable.

Undeniably, it takes some time to acclimate to Sitcom – Ozon doesn’t ease us into this world, rather launching us directly into the life of this family, giving us the benefit of the doubt insofar as he knew that those who will be able to eventually get on the film’s wavelength are the exact audience that will derive the perverse pleasure in seeing this story unfold. Much like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (a tenuous connection, but one that does make sense in context), Ozon is drawing out the inherent terror that comes from a family dynamic, which isn’t something that is normally found in stories that focus on domestic life – and the director approaches it in much the same way that Tobe Hooper did, combining humour and horror to form a disconcerting, but profoundly effective satire that aims for the jugular and refuses to soften its very dark demeanour in favour of easing the audience into the story. Comfort is not something in Ozon’s working vocabulary when it came to making Sitcom, which thrived on its ability to bewilder and shock, often containing questionable subject matter (not only does a mass-murder bookend this film, but there’s conversations around the perceived immorality of homosexuality by the middle-class and their conservative values, as well as a range of other bizarre narrative decisions that push this film further into the realm of social horror than we’d expect), but always coming across as entirely entertaining, and frequently very funny, even if our laughter becomes one that is inspired less by what we find funny, but rather as a way of soothing the nerves that are perpetually being provoked by this very strange but enticing glimpse into suburban malaise.

Sitcom is not a film that makes much sense – as we’ve already mentioned, it takes a while to fully understand the direction Ozon is going with this story, to the point where the first few scenes are almost painfully uncomfortable, and not effectively so. However, once the film hits its stride, it’s difficult to not become entirely entranced by this peculiar narrative. Undeniably, Sitcom was not designed to make too much sense in the first place – after all, this is the story of a family falling into a state of total debauchery as a result of a new addition to their family, a small white rat that would normally be used in scientific experiments (there’s even a conversation to be had about the possibility that the tables have been turned, and the experimenter has become the subject, and vice versa). There was never going to be much logical fluency in this film, and Sitcom doesn’t ever reach a point of complete coherency – but it was all part of Ozon’s plan to make a film that was as disorienting as possible, where rationality was not an option, but rather a distant prospect. It’s an engaging film specifically because it challenges us to look beyond the more traditional narrative style, and instead welcome in the weirdness, embracing the unconventional aspects of the story, while commenting on the broader world situated just on the outskirts of this idyllic countryside manor, which is home to some of the most perverse desires one could possibly imagine. The representation of lust, identity and familial politics is bewildering but extremely worthwhile, since the darkly satirical nature of the film lends itself to some complex conversations, provoking thought in the same way it incites profound discomfort, which isn’t something that is all too easy to achieve without a clear artistic vision, which Ozon has always exemplified.

It’s unfathomable the extent to which Ozon manages to push the boundaries of good taste, while still producing something relatively sophisticated and complex, so if there was any doubt that he’s one of the most important filmmakers of his generation, and a distinct artistic voice, Sitcom proves it in abundance. He has such a particular way of telling stories, so much that even when jumping between genres in between films (as he is one of the most versatile directors working today), you can always trace his style back to a particular set of artistic ambitions, creating a vivid tapestry of deeper issues that run through many of his films. Surrealism is a difficult concept, and many filmmakers have unfortunately faltered when it comes to using it, particularly since there is a general belief that it entails simply being weird for the sake of it. However, Sitcom proves that even beneath the most bizarre absurdist tales, there is depth and structure, and while it may sometimes feel like it is going off the rails and veering towards becoming utterly ridiculous, there is something of value in every frame, deeper discussions to be had the moment we can move beyond the putrid but entertaining subject matter. Ozon has had a fascinating and varied output, and while Sitcom is never going to be considered one of his peaks, nor amongst his most memorable works when looking at all the magnificent films he’s produced over his artistic career, it is certainly one that those curious enough to leap into this deranged version of the world will never be able to forget, for better or worse.