See the Sea


See the Sea is a 1997 French film written and directed by François Ozon and starring Sasha Hails as a young British mother living in a small seaside village in France who takes in a malevolent homeless drifter while her husband is away on business.

Plot

An Englishwoman named Sasha lives on France's Île d'Yeu with her infant daughter Sioffra and her husband, who is often away for business. One day, when Sasha is home alone, a young female drifter appears at Sasha's door and asks her for permission to pitch her tent in the garden. At first reserved and reluctant, Sasha eventually allows her camp in the yard and both women begin to develop a relationship with each other.
Sasha decides to go shopping and leaves Sioffra in the care of the drifter, even though she is irritated by her unusual behavior. When she returns to find everything in order, she finally invites the woman to sleep inside her house. That night, the drifter sneaks into Sasha's room where she strips naked while watching her sleep.
When Sasha's husband returns home on the following day, he finds an empty house. In the tent behind the house he finds Sasha bound and dead with her vagina sewn shut. The drifter, wearing Sasha's dress, holds the crying Sioffra on a ferry which is leaving the island.

Reception

See the Sea received positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and compared it to the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Cast