A Deneuve Dozen
TIME REGAINED
DIRECTOR: RAOUL RUIZ
FRANCE/ITALY/PORTUGAL, 1999
“Only a fool, you suppose, would attempt to film Proust; in that case, Raoul Ruiz, the Chilean director, is a wise and delicate fool, especially since he elected to concentrate on the concluding volume of ’In Search of Lost Time.’ There’s no Swann and not much of Proust’s beloved Albertine (Chiara Mastroianni), but plenty of Odette (Catherine Deneuve), the Baron de Charlus (John Malkovich), and the haughty Saint-Loup (Pascal Greggory), plus enough of Gilberte (Emmanuelle Béart) to demonstrate why men and boys alike would throw their hearts, or their teacups, at her feet. The picture has a stately, waltz-like rhythm, as our narrator guides us through the declining fortunes of his friends under the shadow of the First World War.”—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker. (162 mins.)