Le Temps retrouvé (1999)
Directed by Raoul Ruiz

Film Review

In Le Temps retrouvé, a suitably extravagant adaptation of the final volume of Marcel Proust's seven-volume epic novel À la récherche du temps perdu (aka: In Remembrance of Things Past), the distinguished Chiliean-born director Raoul Ruiz attempts the impossible by filming the unfilmable.  It is a valiant effort, but the result is only partially successful, far less satisfying than Ruiz's other work to date - Trois vies et une seule mort (1996), Généalogies d'un crime (1997), Ce jour-là (2003).

Visually, few would dispute that this film is a daring attempt to capture the essence of Proust's dauntingly monumental work.  Throughout the film's two and a half hour duration, the photography is consistently captivating.  The director creates an impression of timelessness and relentless fluidity which is in keeping with the style of Proust's novel.  The viewer has the sense that he is hand-in-hand with Proust as he steps through his memories, accepting the surreal imagery as willingly as recollections of real-life events.  It is an intriguing promenade through the distorted memories of a dying man, and a beautiful example of visual poetry.

On the other hand, as a piece of cinema, the film leaves a great deal to be desired.  Lacking structure, coherence or any form of logicality, it is very difficult to maintain an interest in the unfolding events.  The director plays the same game that Proust plays in his novel.  In his work, Proust presents the reader with a fragmented, semi-surreal, and highly subjective series of images, which it is left to the reader to piece together and ultimately construct the whole as envisaged by the author.  What Proust sets out to do in his lengthy tome, Ruiz attempts in less than three hours of cinema, and the director is not helped by the fact that cinema is a less absorbing medium than the printed word.  As a result, those that are most likely to appreciate the film are those that are familiar with Proust's original work - but they would be denied the satisfaction of resolving Proust's puzzle.  Anyone not familiar with Proust's novel is immediately disenfranchised.  This explains why Proust's great work has seldom been adapted for cinema, and, when it has, the result is almost always a disaster. Chantal Akerman's La Captive (2000) is arguably the one successful attempt at this; the least said about Volker Schlondorff's torpid Un amour de Swann (1984) the better. 

Fortunately, whilst not a total success, Ruiz's adaptation of Proust's novel has the feel of a major cinematographic achievement.  Although no character is developed as fully as it should, adding to the film's lack of substance, there are some fine acting performances.  Although she is only on screen for about fifteen minutes, Catherine Deneuve shines as the cool, seductive and manipulative socialite, whilst John Malkovitch is entertaining as the stiff upper-lipped aristocrat salaciously eyeing up young men.  Watch out also for Emanuelle Béart, Vincent Pérez and Pascal Greggory, all on fine form.  This really is a star-studded cast - although it is doubtful whether Ruiz actually gets the best out of his troupe of stars.

Film Synopsis

As he lies on his death bed, attended by his maid, the writer Marcel Proust recounts his life in a series of fragmented, inter-locking recollections.  Past times are merged and muddled as he encounters prominent figures from his life, whilst the writer tries to discern some meaning from it all.