Changing Times (2004)

Traveling from France to Tangiers, a man looks to reunite with his former love, though their romance ended some 30 years earlier.

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

André Téchiné (scenario), Laurent Guyot (scenario)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Gilbert Melki

5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Catherine Deneuve	...	Cécile
Gérard Depardieu	...	Antoine Lavau
Gilbert Melki	...	Natan
Malik Zidi	...	Sami
Lubna Azabal	...	Nadia / Aïcha
Tanya Lopert	...	Rachel Meyer
Nabila Baraka	...	Nabila
Idir Elomri	...	Saïd
Nadem Rachati	...	Bilal
Jabir Elomri	...	Saïd
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christophe Freudiger	...	Joueur du casino
Hicham Ibrahimi	...	Réceptionniste
Bouchaïd Kidi	...	Le bijoutier
Stéphane Rouabah	...	Chauffeur d'Antoine

Storyline

Connections and personality: France and Morocco, sisters, mothers and sons, husbands and lovers. Antoine arranges a job in Tangiers so he can reconnect to Cécile, his first love, unseen for 30 years. Sami, her son, comes from Paris with his friend Nadia and her son to see his mother and his Moroccan boyfriend. Nadia wants to see Aïcha, her twin, a devout Muslim unwilling to see her pill-popping sister. Antoine harbors romantic fantasies; Cécile lives in the real world of an empty marriage to Natan, a Jewish doctor who's broke, drinks too much, and wants to move back to Casablanca. Cécile is a follower. Dogs and mud present dangers, as does complaisance. Will the earth move?

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Plot Keywords:

male frontal nudity | male rear nudity | twin | marriage | morocco | 

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Taglines:

Un premier amour peut-il devenir un dernier amour? (Can a first love become a last love?)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Gemini Films / 1000 Films [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 December 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Changing Times

Filming Locations:

Ibn Batouta International Airport, Tangiers, Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,702, 16 July 2006

Gross USA:

$545,255

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,178,714

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gemini Films, France 2 Cinéma, Centre National du Cinéma et de L'image Animée (CNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 100 min (IFC library print)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was restored in 2018 by Eclair with support from Arte France and The Bureau.

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Soundtracks

Tumba
Performed by Angélique Kidjo
Written by Angélique Kidjo, Carlinhos Brown
Angelique Kidjo Publishing Designee. EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
© Edicoes Musicais Tapajos Ltd / Warner Chappell Music France
Avec l'autorisation des Editions EMI Music Publishing France SA
(Tous droits reserves pour l'Univers entier)
(p) 2002 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
© l'aimable autorisation de Sony Music Entertainment (France) S.A.S.

User Reviews

A wonderful achievement of atmosphere and storytelling.

André Techiné sets this story of undying love against a complicated backdrop of conflicted individuals living in today's fragmented world. Essentially a simple story of a middle-aged pair whose paths have not crossed in 30 years, until one of them, still smitten and unable to relinquish his love, throws himself, unwelcome, into the life of the other. Deneuve is at her restrained best, further shown to advantage by the always watchable Depardieu.

The film's other main message is that life is complex and hard, that connections are increasingly difficult to maintain, and our attention must be scattered but vigilant in order to survive. Techiné throws in so many pieces of commentary on modern life that, while the main story is relatively simple, the viewer comes away under a heavy weight, as if having watched an epic film.