June 28, 2006
Trailer for Ozon's latest
Take a sneak peek at Time to Leave
I don't know what to make of François Ozon, one of France's most acclaimed directors today - at least, from what I have seen so far.
8 Femmes (2002) was Agatha Christie meets Douglas Sirk; deliciously entertaining in the first half hour, and then faltering in its remaining duration. Swimming Pool (2003) was a delightful homage to the creative mind, illustrating the infinite hallucinations of a writer, via campy 'n' suspenseful Hitchcockian thematic staples regarding sex and murder. And 5x2 (2004) was a love story told in reverse chronological order; a high-minded concept that proved more ambitious than emotionally nor intellectually resonant. Unlike Michel Gondry's superior Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), 5x2 fails to fully explore why a union so tumultuous and turbulent could have been initiated in the first place.
Now comes Time to Leave (2005), Ozon's second trilogy about death and loss (the first was 2000's Under the Sand, which I have yet to see), is about a handsome, successful photographer with terminal cancer who gradually comes to grips with the time that remains.
Time to Leave first premiered as an Un Certain Regard entry at Cannes last year, to mixed reviews from critics. The foreign messageboard visitors who have seen the film, however, appear to be much more receptive to the film.
Check out the trailer at Apple.com. The film, distributed by Strand Releasing, will kick off its North American theatrical release on July 14 in NYC. Other major cities such as LA will follow in subsequent weeks.
