Le temps retrouvé, d'après l'oeuvre de Marcel Proust (1999)

A lush, elegant epic taking us on a time-swirling trip down the infinitely complex labyrinth that is Marcel Proust's memory lane.

Director:

Raoul Ruiz

Writers:

Marcel Proust (novel), Gilles Taurand (scenario) 

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Perez

 

Storyline

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) is on his deathbed. Looking at photographs brings memories of his childhood, his youth, his lovers, and the way the Great War put an end to a stratum of society. His memories are in no particular order, they move back and forth in time. Marcel at various ages interacts with Odette, with the beautiful Gilberte and her doomed husband, with the pleasure-seeking Baron de Charlus, with Marcel's lover Albertine, and with others; present also in memory are Marcel's beloved mother and grandmother. It seems as if to live is to remember and to capture memories is to create a work of great art. The memories parallel the final volume of Proust's novel.

User Reviews

 

"Romantic, detailed and picturesque..."

17 May 2012 | by Sindre Kaspersen (Norway) – See all my reviews

Chilean screenwriter, producer, teacher and director Raúl Ruiz' 51st feature film which he co-wrote with French screenwriter Gilles Taurand is an adaptation of the seventh and final volume of the novel "Remembrance of Things Past" by French author, essayist and critic Marcel Proust (1871-1922), which was published between 1913 and 1927. It premiered In competition at the 52nd Cannes Film Festival in 1999, was shot on location in Paris, France and is a France-Italy-Portugal co-production which was produced by Portuguese producer Paulo Branco. It tells the story about an anonymous man whom whilst on his deathbed in the home of his friend Gilberte, begins to think about the time when he had just been released from a sanatorium and was a young aspiring writer during the First World War in Paris, France.

Distinctly and precisely directed by filmmaker Raúl Ruiz (1941-2011), this quiet and somewhat surreal period piece which is narrated by French producer, actor and filmmaker Patrice Chéreau and from multiple viewpoints, draws a reflective and incisive portrayal of an early 20th century writer's internal odyssey through his memories during the last hours before his death. While notable for its colorful milieu depictions, the exquisite production design by production designer Bruno Beaugé, cinematography by Argentine cinematographer Ricardo Aranovich, costume design by French costume designer Caroline de Vivaise and Italian costume designer Gabriella Pescucci and the fine film editing by French film editor Denise de Casabianca, this dialog-driven and at times humorous story, depicts an insightful study of character and contains a great and timely score by composer Jorge Arrigada.

This poignantly atmospheric and finely paced drama about an introspective man's relationship to the world that surrounds him, the women he as befriended or had relations with, his memories and time in itself, contains an efficient score by Chilean composer Jorge Arrigada, an array of variegated characters and is impelled and reinforced by its fragmented narrative structure and the reverent acting performances by Italian actor Marcello Mazzarella, American producer, actor and director John Malkovich, French actress Emmanuelle Béart, French actor Pascal Greggory, French screenwriter, actress and director Marie-France Pisier (1944-2011), Swiss actor Vincent Perez and French actress and singer Chiara Mastroianni. A romantic, detailed and picturesque independent film which gained the award for Best Cinematography Ricardo Aranovich at the Ourense International Independent Film Festival in Spain, 1999.

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