Time Regained

I found it was unnecessary to “search.” The opening image of this movie immediately hooked me. It is not explained, so one must be “au courant.” The image is of the steeple in Illiers (now, fittingly known as “Illiers-Combray”). The stream that passes behind Marcel Proust’s childhood home, still with the stone facilities for doing laundry, is in the foreground. Along that stream, in the long summer evenings of northern France, during “La Belle Epoque,” a postprandial stroll could be taken, and Proust would dub that walk “Swann’s Way.” The destination would be a small municipal park known as Pré Catalan. It is there that the director, Raul Ruez, chose to set-up his cameras to provide that image. Wonderful Pré Catalan has been a part of my life, as has been that aforementioned stroll, undertaken numerous times since we routinely rented a gîte (a farmhouse) only 12 km. away, around the summer solstice, when full dark did not occur until 11 pm. More wonderful still, despite its fame, we would normally be the only people there.Audacious, to say the least. How can anyone even consider making a movie out of one of the longest novel in the French language, “A la Recherche du Temps Perdu,” which is now more properly translated into English as “In Search of Lost Time” (previously it has been very loosely translated as “Remembrance of Things Past”)? Begin at the ending, is Ruez’s approach. The title to the movie is the same as the title to Volume 6, the last volume of the novel, as it is now traditionally printed. I’ve read the entire six volumes and think the last a bit of an outlier, as though Proust was racing to finish it, knowing the end is near. It is the only volume that provides an actual date in the text. “La Belle Epoque” had come to a crashing end; World War I is in the (distant) background, though it is only 50-100 km away, and there are air raids on Paris. Still, “le gratin” seems largely unaffected; the hobnobbing and the good food at the salons continues unabated.The opening scene shows Proust in his bed, in poor health, scribbling away, while also dictating portions of the final volume to his housekeeper. Marcella Mazzeralla plays Proust. Far from that lovely stream in Illiers-Combray and the eagerly awaited childhood kiss from mom, there is the decadence and degeneration that age and the war years bring on. Baron de Charlus, played by John Malkovich, enjoys his young men, from Morel to the elevator boy from the hotel at Balbec who needs connections to get into the Air Force. St. Loup loves the war and enjoys some S&M, rather graphically shown, while on leave (as though the war itself is not enough S&M.)Parts of this movie would be difficult to understand if the viewer had not already read the novel. There are wild swings across time, with flashbacks which provide rich visual depictions of the dinner parties hosted by the Verdurins, with “all the usual suspects,” from the Duke de Guermantes to Cottard in attendance. The remark about a surgeon being able to see the cancer laying underneath the beautiful smooth skin of a woman, in regards to the corruption at the dinner parties, made it to the movie. Naturally there are also flashbacks to the hotel at Balbec, and the stirrings of first love with Gilberte, played well by Emmanuelle Béart, and her friend, Albertine. Proust’s insecurities that his chief rival for his first love might be another woman is also reflected in the movie. Catherine Deneuve is well-suited for the role of Odette de Crecy, as she notches a few bedposts working her way through life, and Le Gratin of society. And famous Françoise, the family maid, also makes the movie, in a much later stage in life, when she is departing an air raid shelter.Like the even more famous madeleine in the novel, this movie, even taking the story back to front, stirred a lot of memories in the tea cup, coupled with a bit of nostalgia for the days of yore, when one could take those leisurely strolls, sans cell phone, before or after dinner, during the gloriously long days of summer in northern France. 5-stars, plus, for both the strolls and the movie.

One of the longest novels in the history of the planet (3,000+ pages) is Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time: Proust 6-pack (Proust Complete). It makes War and Peace (Vintage Classics) run off and squeak in terms of sheer weight. Time Regained: In Search of Lost Time, Vol. VI (Modern Library Classics) (v. 6) is the sixth and final volume of the novel series.In the 1999 film/DVD version under review here, the viewer tracks the life of the author, Marcel Proust (1871-1922), out of sequence, as the protagonist of the original novel mentally relives a retrospective of his past. He attempts to complete his great novel from his deathbed so we see his interactions from that perspective, and intermittently as vignettes of his past. It's this aspect of the film which might generate great confusion for some viewers who are unfamiliar with Proust's Magnum opus novel, additionally complicated by the fact that the novel itself is conveyed by the most lyrical of prose and as through a diaphanous lens, some in real time and some in retrospect. The setting is early 20th Century France. The backdrop for the film is largely that of World War I.Proust wrote of a strange life, at least from a contemporary paradigm. He tells of life among the nobility in Paris and at other locations such as Balbec. His relatives were quite the sheltering kind and there seems to be an invisible shield over him from that point forward. Life experiences for him run the gambit from venomous gossip to homosexual brothels. Proust always seems to be on the outside looking in to the lives of this collection of musicians, writers, military officers, nobles and the like, most of whom manifest some pretty bizarre affinities.For those who know Proust, yes, you'll get [the odious] Odette, Gilberte, St. Loup, and Albertine... in fact one is exposed to most of the prime players of the novel, albeit often in little more than a flash.I loved the cinematography of this film which features very strong and hazy backlighting, particularly during Proust's periods of reminiscing; however, this gives rise to a great problem for the typical American viewer: the film is conveyed in the French language with English subtitles which frequently disappear into the intense backlighting. I more-or-less guesstimated that I was deprived of between 2-4 percent of the dialogue. The translation itself was excellent but those quirky subtitles were quite discouraging at times -- a great shame!The international slate of actors includes Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Perez, and John Malkovich (Beowulf (Unrated Director's Cut).) This 158-minute French production was strategically directed by Raoul Ruiz. The superb classical soundtrack, composed by Gorge Arriagada, is thankfully available: Le Temps Retrouvé (Time Regained).For me, I can hardly generate adequate praise for this pure art film... but then I've recently read the novel. But, on the other hand, I would not wish in any way to discourage anyone from taking in this fine dramatic film. Recommended to fans both of the book(s) and of the genre.

Time Regained is a superb adaption of the last volume of In Search of Lost Time. The viewer is treated to a well-imagined recreation of the salons and homes often described in Proust.The film will, however, make little sense to those who haven’t read In Search of Lost Time. And the scenes tend to focus on the various romantic entanglements. The role of art in society, the replacing of religious creeds and rites by the artist and Proust’s many reflections on life are barely present in the film.Even so, it instilled in me a desire to read more about Proust or even reread In Search of Lost Time. If that is its effect it is surely a success. Recommended to all Proust devotees.

With so much to cover, I was surprised, and disappointed, with the long, repetitive and tedious passages (e. g., the male brothel) that vitiate the progress of the film. But the cinematography is, for me, anyway, unexampled, the frames, the shots, the ways in which the point of view shifts and slides . . . I rented and watched the film, and then I bought it, and I am watching it again, and I am sure that I will be watching it again and again.The acting is flawless. The boy Proust and then the man are totally convincing. Catherine Deneuve is breathtaking, both in her actin and in how beautiful she is, and the rest of the cast are not far behind.It is as beautiful a movie as I have ever seen. A treasure.Does it capture Proust's immense novel? Well, "capture" is surely the wrong word, but it very intelligently uses the devices of cinema to suggest a lot of what that great work is about.

J'étudie la littérature.

Taking the concept of less is more ,writer-director Raoul Ruiz,has somehow summarized the 7 books of Proust's magnum opus,Remembrance of Things Past, into a 2.5 hour film.He does this by taking the last part,Time Regained, but also shooting episodes from earlier volumes of the novel.The film blends the life of Proust,the author,with that of his fictional alter ego,Marcel,the novel's narrator.Proust is on his death-bed in 1922,reciting his magnum opus to his house-keeper,'he's nearing the end' as another character says.As Proust looks at some old photographs, in his mind's eye he becomes his narrator Marcel(Mazzerella),a man of bourgeois origins,fascinated by the social elite of Paris.Marcel's reveries are shown in a kaleidoscopic sequence of short scenes where most of the film's major characters,settings and themes are introduced.He recalls the parties,friendships,love affairs and falling-outs that mark the years before and during WW 1.At a reception given by the Prince and Princess de Guermantes, awaiting the finish of a musical interlude,an upsurge of familiar sensations washes over him.These sensations, resembling the Madeleine incident of the opening pages,set off a great sunburst of memory reaching all the way back to his earliet childhood and his mother reading to him in Combray.This extraordinary film gives the unwieldy novel a second order currency in our culture.The subject of the novel is involuntary memory,the aesthetic framing of desire,how far we can retrieve our past selves,how little we can control the people we love,and the rediscovery of a vocation to write,the refinding of his lost calling from his own erring life.Gilberte's giving him Goncourt's Journal reminds him of all the people he has come to know.Ruiz captures the sensuous texture of the prose by turning the language of the novel into a pool of cinematic images which we go in and it carries us along.Using stunning cinematography and a star-studded cast(Malkovitch, Beart,Deneuve,Perez,Mazarella) the techniques used are strange camera angles,slow motion,dream-like sequences, images that fuse together,moving platforms,moving back and forth in time,to capture the twilight zone between consciousness and unconsciousness in which the novel takes place.The book begins with a man and then a boy not being able to get to sleep. The movie seems at first viewing to be so difficult. The primary reason for this is that the film, in imitation of involuntary memory, does not present events in chronological order.Also we may get the older and younger Marcel in the same scene, the mixing of real life characters with fictional ones.Recreating the timelessness of Proust's work,'Time Regained 'is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between the writer and his creations and is a truly stunning achievement.A creation independent of the novel.

A la recherche is obviously impossible to film in its entirity but by conectrating on the final volume ,with some flashbacks, this film makes an excellent stab at it. The atmosphere of Belle Epoche France and the world of Proust is captured convincingly and it's beautufully filmed. The casting is excellent although Catherine Deneuve is perhaps slightly too 'classy' as Odette. Despie its 155 mins it's certainly not too long and is worth repeated watching; you'll get something new from it every time. It certainly helps if you've read the books first though.

consigliabile a nessuno : molto scadente la regia, soddisfacente la coreografia. Cervellotica la sequenza, lo svolgimento è noioso. Insomma una delusione cocente per gli appassionati di Proust.

pour ce Temps Retrouvé adapté par Ruiz , acteurs, decors mis en scène, trouvaille "ruizienen" servent ce Chef d' Oeuvre avec génie et modestie ,l'acteur qui joue Marcel est tout bonnement stupéfiant, mention à Emmanuelle Béart qui redevient la grande actrice du temps de "la Belle Noiseuse e"t à Pascal Gregory en Saint Loup dans une scène d'anthologie d'une dégustation proche du cannibalisme d'un beefsteak cuit à point le tout finis en un dîner de têtes" crépusculaire" alors que Charlus sombre dans la folie bravo