Time Regained [DVD] [1999] [2000]

Translating Marcel Proust's vast 12-volume novel A la recherché du temps perdu (Rembrance of Things Past) to the screen was never going to be a pushover, and several distinguished film-makers have tried and failed. It fell to the veteran Chilean-born director Ral Ruiz to bring it off better than anyone had a right to expect. Ruiz adopts the strategy of taking as his framework Proust's final volume, in which all the strands of the towering masterpiece are pulled together. Into this autumnal narrative the film weaves intricate flashbacks to events from the earlier volumes, revealing the workings of time itself. Rich and complex, Time Regained presents a sweeping panorama of early 20th century French high society, portrayed with all Proust's ambivalent mixture of mockery and snobbish fascination, while the elegant pans and slow tracking shots mirror his serpentine prose. A matchless cast of actors (Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, John Malkovich) give utterly stylish performances. The film is superbly mounted and visually ravishing, though those not familiar with the original may occasionally feel a little confused. --Philip Kemp

Time Regained (aka Le Temps Retrouvé) is a French language film starring the eternally graceful Catherine Deneuve. The film is based (loosely) on Marcel Proust's saga 'à la Recherche du Temps Perdu' (Remembrance Of Things Past). While the film does not strictly follow the structure of Proust's work (which would probably be impossible for cinema anyway), it is a successful, and often beautiful, exploration of the characters and themes that dominate his masterpiece. This film was nominated for the Golden Palm (Raúl Ruiz) at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Wide Screen
DVD 9
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 French
Dolby Digital 2.0
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
Director And Cast Filmographies
English

Intelligent, elegant ... exhilarating --The Observer

A great work ... a cine-literary miracle --Alexander Walker, Evening Standard

A remarkable piece of cinema --The Guardian