ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

FRENCH DIRECTOR Francois Ozon is fascinated by death and how we cope with mortality.

He claims that the much-admired ‘Under The Sand’ with Charlotte Rampling was the first film in a trilogy about death. The second film is ‘Time To Leave’, a sombre, elegantly handled tale of a young man’s reaction to the devastating news that he has terminal cancer.

Melvil Poupaud stars as Romain, a successful fashion photographer in his early thirties. When a doctor tells him that he has some bad news Romain assumes the worst. “Do I have Aids?”, he asks. Relief turns to disbelief when he is informed that he has cancer.

Chemotherapy holds little chance of success and he only has a short time to live. He chooses not to tell anyone, lashing out in anger at the ones he loves, including his boyfriend Sasha (Christian Sengewald) and his sister Sophie (Louise-Anne Hippeau).

The one person he does tell is his grandmother Laura, played with such grace and presence by veteran star Jeanne Moreau that their scenes together have a special glow.

Later, he meets waitress Jany (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) who asks him to father the child her infertile husband is unable to provide.

‘Time To Leave’ is told with such simplicity and tenderness that it manages to avoid the maudlin as it focuses on Romain and the way he gradually comes to terms with his own death.

It may sound rather depressing subject matter but the film is so sensitively shaped and beautifully acted that a sad story becomes deeply moving and strangely life-affirming.

Selected nationwide release
Director: Francois Ozon
Stars: Mevil Poupaud, Jeanne Moreau, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
Screenwriter: Francois Ozon
Certificate: 18
Running time: 81 mins
Country: France
Year: 2005

© Allan Hunter, 2006