Changing Times (2004) User Reviews

Time changes, but love endures

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 9 September 2006]

Antoine Lavau, is a man that never forgot to love Cecile, even though a lot of time has passed since they last saw one another. In fact, Cecile, who has married a Moroccan physician, and has settled in Tangiers, is going through some difficult time herself. When Antoine asks to be sent to Tangiers for a big project, all he has in mind is to find Cecile again.

Not everything goes well when Cecile and Antoine finally meet. It's almost impossible to reactivate a love affair after so many years, as Antoine keeps counting the days since he lost her. Cecile, who is working on a radio program, has found her marriage to Natan, is in shambles. To make matters worse, her bisexual son, Sami, arrives for vacation with his lover, Nadia, and her young son.

Sami wants to resume his sexual liaison with a young local who he secretly lusts after. Nadia, on the other hand, an Arab, has adapted to the Western customs, whereas Aicha, her twin, is a modest woman who seems to observe her religion and who is only working at a minimum wage job in a fast food place.

The film has an almost tragic end as Antoine suffers a grave accident and has to be hospitalized. Cecile has come to a decision and it will come as no surprise to the viewer: love conquers all! That is the message that Andre Techine wants to tell us. Working with the screen play by Laurent Guyot, he does what he can to make this film engrossing.

Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve reunite, once again for this film. It shows clearly how time is cruel even to great beauties like Ms. Deneuve, who appears to be aging, but still has her great beauty to share with the audience. Mr. Depardieu, alas, although younger, appears not to have the same luck as his co-star. Gilbert Melki plays Cecile's husband, and Lubua Azabal plays the dual role of Nadia/Aicha.

The film has some good moments, although this is not Mr. Techine's finest moment directing.

Nothing to it

[Felix-28 · 6/10 · 27 October 2005]

I saw this film last night as part of a Catherine Deneuve festival. She never disappoints me, and she didn't disappoint me this time, but the film did. Gerard Depardieu also was outstanding as usual; he is utterly amazing in his ability to portray vastly different characters despite his utterly distinctive physical presence.

I regard any film that holds my attention throughout as being basically good, and any that doesn't as basically bad. This one held my attention, so it's good. I kept wanting to see what happened next.

But there are degrees of goodness, and this one was down near the bottom. At the end, I thought, "Well, what am I supposed to take out of all that?" Two former lovers may or may not be reunited; if they are, it may or may not be the result of witchcraft; the half-gay son's girlfriend is unhappy about something, but I have no idea what it it is or if it's going to get better; her sister is also troubled, but I have no idea what about; maybe something significant was said about the politics of Tangier and/or Iraq, but if so it went over my head.

The hand-held camera, as always, didn't make me think about the significance of the events that were unfolding; it just unsettled my stomach by forcing me to adjust my field of vision every millisecond. When you think about it, the basic rationale for constant use of hand-held cameras is fundamentally stupid. It doesn't add realism; it destroys it. When I observe people interacting, I don't dance around them as photographers holding cameras seem compelled to do; and if I do move, my field of vision changes smoothly and, to me, unnoticeably. But when the hand-held camera moves, it jerks, and the viewer has to adjust his field of vision and then absorb the sights he sees. Bring back the good old days where the images were the focus, not the camera-work.

A wonderful achievement of atmosphere and storytelling.

[damonisho · 6/10 · 11 October 2005]

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.

A let-down

[pnay75-2 · 12 January 2006]

What a let-down!! With a renowned director and two of the biggest French stars, you could expect at least a good movie, if not a masterpiece. But the result is a shamble: the film tells of the undying love of Gérard Depardiieu for Catherine Deneuve, as they were lovers but parted some 30 years before. But the reason of the split is not explained: on the contrary, Deneuve confesses to her assistant and good friend that she was madly in love with Depardieu, both sexually and affectively … So you don't understand. Add an unfaithful husband who does not care a hoot any longer for Deneuve… you cannot expect to fulfill a 100 minute-movie with so thin a story. So they create useless roles ( the AC/DC son of Deneuve, his wife and his son, and his lover, as well as the wife's twin sister) and scenes (Depardieu's attempt at black magic, the dogs attacking Deneuve's son) . But they are uninteresting (when not laughable) and leave you cold… And if Depardieu is rather good, - showing some aspects of his former talent before he agreed to make any and every indifferent or bad films for amassing pots of money -, Deneuve appears unconcerned, showing no sincerity in her performance. I give it a 4, feeling generous ..

not worth it; what a shame

[film_ophile · 6/10 · 12 July 2005]

i am such a fan of deneuve and depardieu that i will pretty much see any non- American film that they make. i also hold the other two Techine/Deneuve film projects amongst my favorite french films. so, for these reasons, i saw this film at last weeks Boston MFA's French Film Festival.Unfortunately, I think I regret the time spent with it.The screenplay was just not good. Too much time with side stories of the son that i really did not care about. I feel that the lead performances were wasted because the screenwriter/director did not give enough structure to the three adults (about their pasts together)on which to build a believable present situation. Tant pis. i do hope techine will recover and share with us more of the talent that produced Les Voleurs and Ma Saison Preferee.

An above average film directed by veteran French film director André Téchiné !!!!

[Film_critic_Lalit_Rao · 6/10 · 1 June 2010]

French film "Les Temps Qui Changent"/"Changing Times" is one of those nicely crafted culturally relevant films which suffers a lot due to richness of its great ideas ! This might seem strange as there are many minor stories in this film which invariably cross their paths with a brilliant main story.This is an element which fails to create an impression on viewers as an irregular back and forth jumping in time does not make any significant attempt to concentrate on any single aspect of its protagonists' emotional and sexual lives.There are some nice views of Moroccan city Tangiers as viewers get to see legendary superstars of French cinema Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve make all possible sacrifices to rekindle their lost flames of love. However,all this fails to create a solid film as supporting cast has done an average job.André Téchiné has made better films and this film's failure would not dishearten his loyal admirers who know that he would emerge victorious again with a new film probing unfathomable depths of human relationships.PS : Film critic Lalit Rao would like to thank a good friend Mr.Philippe Pham for having gifted a DVD of this film for detailed analysis.

This is a good relationships drama, but Depardieu seems to be the least interesting character

[Mancic2000 · 7/10 · 19 January 2009]

Once again, Techine has proved himself the master of carving very real, tentalising, relevant and heart-wrenching relationships drama that never fail to grip the audience until way after the ending credits are finished. Changing Times is more a study of the difference between love and companionship, a question to be asked by the husband, the wife and the son. The feeling of the realness of the plot and the characters Techine instills in the audience is what makes his drama alluring and unforgettable, as opposed to "mainstream" Hollywood productions which never fail to extract themselves from the reality.

Having said that, is it just myself who thinks that despite the interesting stories of the characters, Despardieu seems to be the least interesting or enchanting character among them, followed by Denueve? Frankly I am way much more attracted to the son's and the husband's stories and their decision-making.

Furthermore, the conspicuous efforts to seep in the French-Morrocan ethnic tension from time to time in the movie seems to a bit out of place and distracting at times. Nonetheless, it is still a very good piece of work with a unique realness and human tension which is now a trademark of Techine. Changing Times deserves more than a 6.2 rating definitely and don't be put off.

Plot Cop-Out

[jcappy · 5/10 · 3 January 2017]

Can this failed, disjointed plot be saved? Is it is worth saving? I think so, but I am probably in the minority. I suggest that the pivotal relationship between Antoine Lavau (Depardieu) and Cecile (Deneuvre) be resuscitated. There's enough integrity in the film's early going to inspire a re-working of two protagonists. I think the trick is to avoid at all costs stereotyping, cynicism, canned emotions, and manipulative plot turns.

First, Antoine is singular (original) and he must stay in character. He is not some freak of nature who needs a Hollywood re-cast. There are shy and introverted men who, often in their twenties, will experience a break-up, maybe from their first real love. A male of this mode, may weather the storm, but gradually his conviction grows that the initial lover was both rarer than what he imagined and possibly even irreplaceable. He may soon become convinced that he blew his one true chance at love. So his affective love gradually shifts back in her direction, displacing thoughts of a new relationship. He may resurrect her photos, be more cognizant of her life, adopt her preferences, and more rarely, prefer to live in more physical proximity to her.

To one degree or another, such a man is under the influence of a romantic ideal. He needs to experience a sense of love, so he returns to the woman who compelled his passion. He realizes that while remarriage is a mere dream, her palpable presence gives pique to his life. He also understands that any obtrusion into her life would run counter to this new realization. It's not that she's an angel, but rather that love put on hold or bracketed never really stops.

In "Changing Times," (a trite title) Antoine initially appears to be this identical romantic lover. He's very singular and the not in the least unconvincing. His face is compelling, as is the complexity of his thoughts, the certainty of his emotions. He elicits interest--there is something of us in him, something in him we can learn from, something perhaps instructive in his loneliness. We sense that if he is to actually meet with this woman of his, it will have to be by accident. I mean like why after thirty years of steady love would he suddenly thrust himself on a married woman? As to Cecile, she too belongs here as the kind of woman who might inspire such memory and lasting love. Although in many ways typically middle class, she projects an independence, a world-weary sophistication, and a realistic sense of her position in life. She hosts a radio show, exercise authority over others, and is self-directed. She is no dreamer, no romantic; she grasps what a cad her younger husband is and deals with him as it suits her. When she meets Antoine she unhesitatingly sets her boundaries, defuses his interest, and projects him as a detail in a busy life.

The movie's premise works. But the unfolding fails. It's as if these grown-ups morph into adolescents. Antoine slithers out of character as if he's suddenly aware of maleness, and is amazed by it. He doesn't exactly stalk Cecile but his actions and words suggest that continuum. Now his mix of shy and bold seem like a sneaky maneuver, and he can't seem to get enough of himself. In a tete-a tete with Cecile's hunky husband, he admits to having many affairs, but of being only impersonally present in them. And as he takes on a more aggressive approach to this man's wife, his singular anonymous lover image is certainly tarnished. And thus it is that he resorts to direct confrontation, high drama, and on shy, naive guises to effectuate his tricks which serve both to ingratiate himself with Cecile and to insinuate himself into her life. And with the help of convenient plot accidents, his assumption of access to his ex-lover, is achieved in a manner hardly different than that of any other drippy dude.

If his role is abandoned by Techine, so too is Cecile's autonomy. She becomes the personification of access. (There is no comedy here, not initially and not now.) When interrupted by a hapless Antoine during a radio broadcast, her rage is over the top--which in turn sets her up for an equally over the top contriteness. Which shatters her independence. And seems to rob her of her volition. Thus she becomes for Antoine a sex therapy operative--one that requires no desire, will, or suggestion on his part. And, of course, after his mud accident, Cecile is then cast as a kind of madonna nurse, and is returned to familial motherhood.

So, thanks to Techine's cop out direction, and imagination breakdown, two original and interesting characters who promises much in the way of subtle drama, and character development, are sacrificed. The unknown becomes the known. Antoine becomes everyman, and Cecile is reduced to a mother and a mistress.

Engrossing

[y_kant_goran_rite · 8/10 · 20 October 2005]

I'm a bit confused at the negative reactions on here, I really can't imagine anybody disliking this film. It's perfectly solid writing, direction and performances, and I miss the days when filmmakers were encouraged to tell stories relevant to life with relatable but complicated characters, against a fascinating, politically charged backdrop.

I'm a huge fan of Techiné's Wild Reeds, it's one of my favorite films of the 90s (and in general) - and OK, granted, this wasn't *as* good, but it was still horribly clever, sweet and entertaining. Depardieu does well despite a tricky character (who's a little too naive to be believable at times), Deneuve is as gorgeous and just generally magnificent as ever, and the supporting cast fares well also.

Contrived and predictable

[howard.schumann · 6/10 · 17 October 2005]

Nominated for the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, André Techine's Changing Times reunites French superstars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu for the seventh time. Set in Tangiers, Morocco in the fifties, the film tackles large topics: temporary pleasure versus enduring commitment, the status of women in Morocco, bisexuality, and the economic gap between wealthy European nations and the third world, but none are fully developed. Along the way, we see refugees waiting by the sea hoping for voyage to Europe, Arabs slaughtering sheep in the desert, and women afraid to be seen in public with men. The film has a fragmentary quality and, in spite of some lyrical moments, is mainly a star vehicle that cannot decide whether it wants to be a comedy, a tragedy, or political commentary.

The film begins as a landslide buries Antoine Lavau (Gerard Depardieu), a supervisor inspecting a construction site, and the film proceeds with flashbacks to Antoine's arrival in Tangiers and his subsequent life in Morocco. Lavau has come to Tangiers to expedite the building of an audiovisual center in the Tax Free Zone of Tangiers. Perhaps sexpedite might be more to the point as he has basically come to rekindle a romance with Cecile (Deneueve), his first love with whom he is still obsessed, even though he has not tried to contact her during the last thirty years out of fear of rejection. Cecile is a radio announcer on a late night music and talk show. Antoine sends her flowers anonymously and spends his nights listening to her voice on the radio. In a scene played for laughs, he even watches a video about voodoo so he can render her powerless to resist his advances. When the two finally meet, it is only after Antoine runs into a glass wall breaking his nose.

Cecile has changed greatly since coming to North Africa and has neither fond memories of Antoine nor any wish to rekindle their romance. She is remarried to Natan (Gilbert Melki), a Jewish doctor and they have one son, Sami (Malik Zidi), a bisexual, who has been living in Paris with his Moroccan girl friend Nadia (Lubna Azubal) and her son Said (Idir Elomri). He is in Tangier visiting his family for the holidays and renewing acquaintances with his Moroccan lover Bilal (Idir Rachati) who lives in a country estate well protected by a pack of none too friendly dogs. Nadia, who suffers from emotional problems and takes tranquilizers, wants to visit her twin sister Aicha while in Tangiers whom she hasn't seen in six years but Aicha refuses to see her, telling Nadia that it would complicate her life. These episodes have some tender moments but we do not learn enough about either sister or for that matter Sami or Bilal to have any emotional investment in their lives.

As Cecile's relationship with Natan becomes more and more strained, she begins to open up a little bit to Antoine and starts to show some affection, but this is interrupted by Antoine's accident at the site, leading to a contrived and predictable resolution of the plot. Although Changing Times contains some fine performances by two outstanding professionals, little emotion is conveyed and I did not find the relationship to be truly convincing. The times they are-a changin' and if this film is any indication of the direction of André Techine's work, it is not for the better. Perhaps someone should have considered putting a voodoo spell on the scriptwriter. As it is, there is much good intention but little magic.

L'art pour l'art

[diand_ · 4/10 · 18 July 2005]

This movie is not that interesting, except for the first ten minutes. The pace and editing are a perfect introduction in an ensemble piece, even better than say Gosford Park. Then it inexplicably slows down, loses focus and starts resembling a traditional French movie only to regain focus in the end with the love relation between Antoine (Depardieu) and Cécile (Deneuve). In the middle there are too many sidelines and loose ends in the story, several threads started are not ended.

*******SPOILERS AHEAD The main story is the relation between Antoine and Cécile. He has been loyal to her after his relation with her many years ago, despite her remarrying and setting up home in Morocco. As builder he now rebuilds his own life and recovers hers by taking the mask of Cécile's marriage. Having accomplished this, he is buried after a freak accident (literally) and becomes a comatose. He wakes only after she has burned their old picture as indication that they've reconciled with the past and can properly start their lives again together. *******END OF SPOILERS

It remains unclear what vision this director wants us to see us because there are so many other stories here: Illegal immigrants want to enter Europe, there are frequent radio broadcasts about the overthrow of Iraq's former regime. Cécile's child is bisexual and is bitten by dogs (loyalty) once he meets his boyfriend, whereas the girl he lives with seems to be sick (of that?). Her sister is traditional Islamic, and enters a relation with Cécile's husband. It portrays Morocco as unnecessary backward, despite all the building there is a strange colonial vision shining through that almost glorifies the past. It portrays Islam as backward and prone to extremism, which may sometimes be true, but certainly not in general. In the end it can all best be described as adding some couleur locale and l'art pour l'art.

Deneuve and Depardieu are great. With this material they are so familiar they are able to spin something extra in every scene: lifting an eyebrow, body language, radiating pride, awkward behavior. The movie itself is disappointing and only confirming the limited role of French cinema in the world nowadays. With some notable exceptions of course.

In André Téchiné's Tangiers, Balzac meets the "Thousand and One Nights"

[Mengedegna · 8/10 · 25 December 2004]

Téchiné once again at his not-quite-best is once again better than just about anything else going on in movies. The Tangiers in which the film is set is one of cranes and bulldozers and exurban office blocks and urban blight as work-in-progress. It could be any big, hyper-developing city anywhere, a point only emphasized by unglamourized shots of the spectacular bay and of the seashore, along which African migrants crowd in search of a lift to Spain. Yet it is also a place where sheikhs still cast out demons (at least on videotape, in a very sharp and funny sequence), and modern, Westernized executive assistants must try hard not to act too irritated or insulted when their foreign charges ask to learn how folks here cast spells. No one who can help it speaks Arabic. This is the Morocco Paul Bowles really lived in, not the one he wrote about. But in the gritty and astringently unsentimental world Téchiné always gives us, magic can and does happen, just as he has always been telling us it does – when, where and how we least expect it.

Into all this he brings Depardieu and Deneuve, well into late middle age and pointedly showing it. The actress the French press still ritually calls the Most Beautiful Woman In The World allows herself to be shot dowdy and wrinkled, and Depardieu is a pathetic, clutsy, mastodontic wreck of a project engineer who's supposed to build things but who pulls them down around himself instead. Viewers who come to this film hoping for a glamorous "Last Metro" sequel will (deservedly) be sorely disappointed, but it is in the interaction of these two as truthfully aging (but only partly matured and not necessarily wiser) human beings that much of the real magic of the film lies. The sequence of their first encounter is transcendental cinema: Téchiné paces, lights and,above all, frames it with as much mastery as you will see in any non-Asian film this year, and the actors pour their lifetimes of experience into making it a moment of stunning, deeply affecting comic understatement. With such consummate virtuosos in front of and behind the camera, all you can do is purr.

Balzac here meets the Thousand and One Nights, with sudden clashes of culture and of personality, and with acute, squirm-inducingly true mixes of love and its opposite between friends, lovers, spouses and (in bravura double casting of Lubna Azabal) twins, all real and raw, all in quicksilver sequences with minimum exposition or narrative explication. The film looks as if it may have been done on a very tight schedule: some of sequences show signs of over-hasty rehearsal, of cameras rolling before actors have gelled and mastered their scene.

But Téchiné is nonetheless a master who makes so many films that he is taken for granted and mistaken for a reliable journeyman. He probably longs for a breakthrough hit and may have been hoping for this finally to be the one. It won't be: the French press comment has ranged from very enthusiastic to tepid to dismissive, and, as is so often the case, he is up against newer and glitzier directors with films being released at roughly the same time. (In 1991, for example, it had been Olivier Assayas's "Paris s'éveille", portentous and affected, that had eclipsed Téchiné's searing but, as usual, flawed "J'embrasse pas"; this year, it is Arnaud Desplechin's "Rois et reine", also featuring Deneuve, that will doubtless outglitz "Les temps qui changent", without bettering it.) But in Paris, chic will always win over substance, and Téchiné will never be chic. This doubtless goes a long way to explaining why so many actors of the first rank (Deneuve – long a synonym for chic – among them) do some of their best work for him and come back to him time after time. They know something about Téchiné that too many professional critics don't -- and so, by now, should we.

Trying to Reclaim a Long-Lost Love

[nycritic · 6/10 · 21 November 2006]

Andre Techine's film LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT (CHANGING TIMES) has been marketed as a romantic comedy that brings Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve together again. He plays an architect who travels to Tangier for an assignment. It so happens that Deneuve, who plays the woman with whom he had an affair with 30 years prior, lives there with her husband and hosts a radio show. When they meet, she's not exactly happy to cross paths -- if anything, this is something that progressively upsets her. Adding to this, the appearance of subplots that are occurring around Deneuve's life: her son, Sami (Malik Zidi) shows up with his Moroccan wife Nadia (Lubna Azabal). She has a sister, Aicha (also Lubna Azabal) who wants nothing to do with her. Sami is also carrying on, unbeknown to Nadia, with a young Moroccan man. And Deneuve's husband has proclaimed he believes in variety instead of monogamy.

Here is where CHANGING TIMES fails: too many subplots detract from the main idea of the romance that would carry itself throughout the movie. None of these stories have anything to do with Deneuve and Depardieu other than provide filler, and a forced third act, where Depardieu gets caught in a construction accident (foreshadowed in the beginning; the movie is mainly an extended flashback leading to this crucial moment) is only an excuse to get Deneuve to step down from her temple of frigidity and become a human being. Now, if Depardieu had not acted in such a way that would seem increasingly creepy instead of endearing there would be a reason to expect some form of romantic resolution to this. Deneuve's ultimate resolve, once it comes, is so completely out of character (like the short wig she is wearing at the end) that it denies everything that has up to then been an okay drama and robs the movie of its credibility.

CHANGING TIMES is something of a misguided, misdirected mess that has some good moments and an intriguing premise but would have fared better had it not been sold as a romantic comedy. It's worth seeing if for its two leads, but other than that, it's rather forgettable.

Reunited and it feels so good

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 1 August 2019]

Marketed as a heartwarming reunion between Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve after fifteen years since their last film, A Strange Place to Meet, Changing Times is actually a bit more dramatic than the preview will lead you to believe. They play a middle-aged pair of exes who haven't seen each other in thirty years. Gérard has held a torch for Catherine, but she's moved on and married someone else. Holding a torch for someone for thirty years means it's an awful lot of pressure for the first time they see each other again. When they finally do, it's a bit of a setup for the rest of the film, since it's not how Gérard wanted it and it's not nearly as sweet as the audience would have hoped. They see each other in the highly romantic setting of a grocery store, and Gérard hurts his nose. He's bleeding; how romantic is that?

So, when you make it through that scene, you should know the rest of the movie isn't going to be flowers and rainbows. Sure, it's cute, since they made five movies together in the 1980s, but it's not so sweet it'll give you a cavity. No offense to the secondary characters, but no one's going to rent the movie to watch their stories, and during their scenes, most people will be hoping the movie cuts back to the main event soon.

terrific 'adult' movie

[edhannibalsr · 28 August 2006]

Just to add to the Australian fan's comments -- what is not to like about Changing Times? It echoes Last Metro (last Catherine & Gerard hook-up for the really nostalgia friendly) and tells a romantic story (a bit far fetched but remember suspension of disbelief as ticket of admission?) in a highly contemporary yet grown-up and worldly-wise way -- the cinematography and editing of same is exciting, story-focused and only sags a little in the middle like many of us. Stars like these two, who are actors first, remind us what "star" is supposed to mean -- they disappear into their characters and make you care what happens to them. Younger cast also compelling. vive les french flicks!!

An above average film has been made by veteran French film director André Téchiné !!!!

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 6/10 · 7 August 2014]

French film "Les Temps Qui Changent"/"Changing Times" is one of those nicely crafted culturally relevant films which suffers a lot due to richness of its great ideas ! This might seem strange as there are many minor stories in this film which invariably cross their paths with a brilliant main story.This is an element which fails to create an impression on viewers as an irregular back and forth jumping in time does not make any significant attempt to concentrate on any single aspect of its protagonists' emotional and sexual lives.There are some nice views of Moroccan city Tangiers as viewers get to see legendary superstars of French cinema Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve make all possible sacrifices to rekindle their lost flames of love. However,all this fails to create a solid film as supporting cast has done an average job.André Téchiné has made better films and this film's failure would not dishearten his loyal admirers who know that he would emerge victorious again with a new film probing unfathomable depths of human relationships.PS : Film critic Lalit Rao would like to thank a good friend Mr.Philippe Pham for having gifted a DVD of this film for detailed analysis.

The Impact of Love and the Ravages of Time

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 5 October 2006]

Writer/director André Téchiné (Wild Reeds, My Favorite Season, Child of the Night, etc) is able to take what appear to be simple emotional responses from complicated people and create an artwork that makes us think, become introspective, and be challenged and entertained all at the same time. His ability to draw intensely personal performances from his actors makes him a director with a full heart and startling technique.

Essentially a love story, 'Les Temps qui changent' ('Changing Times') examines the lives of two people who fell in love in Paris 30 years ago, but parted. Antoine Lavau (Gérard Depardieu) has never married, so in love with his original flame Cécile (Catherine Deneuve) that he is obsessed with winning her back. Cécile has married a younger man, Natan (Gilbert Melki) who is a philandering physician, and lives in Tangiers where she hosts a dowdy talk show on the radio to help support the family. The couple has a bisexual son Sami (Malik Zidi), who has returned to Tangiers with his drug-addled girlfriend Nadia (Lubna Azabal) and her son Saïd (Idir Elomri) much to his parent's concern, and takes up with his Moroccan lover Bilal (Nadem Rachati). The family problems are further complicated by the fact that the Morroccan Nadia has a twin sister Aïcha (also played by Lubna Azabal) in Tangiers who is trying desperately to separate her life from her twin.

Antoine, an architect of means, manages to land a job in Tangiers in hopes of rekindling his romance with Cécile, but Cécile has become a feminist and a bitter woman who resents her younger husband's infidelity and wants nothing to do with love, especially with the threat of depth of feeling that Antoine's new presence in her world presents. Antoine is persistent, meets Cécile's husband for medical reasons, and tries to woo Cécile in a close to stalking manner. Cécile's best friend Rachel (Tanya Lopert) convinces her that the only way to end the ardor of Antoine is to sleep with him, which she finally does with unexpected results. While the dance between Cécile and Antoine progresses, Natan meets Aïcha, Sami and Bilal arouse old emotions, and Nadia requires rehab for her out of control drug habits. How all of these coincidental occurrences coincide in an unexpected accident for Antoine is André Téchiné's magical way of sharing the power of love in the most adverse of circumstances. The ending is surprising and thought-provoking and eminently satisfying.

Depardieu and Deneuve are luminous in their roles, adding yet other crowns to their careers of creating unforgettable, subtle characterizations on film. The remainder of the cast is also superb and the cinematography and music and editing and direction make this a feast for the eyes and the brain. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

Téchiné is brilliant.

[mjledonne · 8/10 · 18 July 2006]

I very much liked this film. I have been a Deneuve fan for a long time and really enjoyed seeing her in another Téchiné picture. This director has a very ambiguous way of making his characters very human and very enigmatic simultaneously. The music he chooses is fantastic. Watching this, I was very much reminded of his 1996 film, Les Voleurs, also starring Deneuve. Les Temps qui Changent is part comedy, part family drama, part romance, and part political commentary. The film doesn't drag--it simmers and feels very alive. Morocco is quite a setting. In such a contrast to the mainstream American films, this film is subtle and unapologetic. The viewers come to care about not only the characters but their world as well. The subplots do not detract but only enhance the realistic and cultural quality of the film. Without a doubt worth watching. Téchiné is a master.

What's with the low rating? I was pulled in from the beginning...

[VEFF · 9/10 · 16 July 2006]

I am surprised by the relatively low average rating for this film compared to the ratings of other similar films. I realize that tastes vary, but this deserves a higher average rating IMHO.

I was drawn into the story and the interaction between the characters. Perhaps I enjoyed it more because I used to live in Europe and speak French fluently (the film does lose something for those who need to read the subtitles). I am tired of the mainstream films and this was so much better than the majority of movies being released these days.

This is an excellent study in human relationships, life and love. It also had some very humorous moments. I also found it to be engrossing, as another reviewer put it.

Like any film it won't appeal to everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I hope films such as this one continue to be produced...

Passion for ever

[shatguintruo · 8/10 · 13 March 2007]

Is it possible that a passion - strictu sensu - lasts over 31 years? This movie tries to demonstrate that is possible... Antoine Lavau (interpreted by Gérard Depardieu) concomitant with his job of supervising the beginning of a great enterprise in an ancient french possession (Argel or Marocco?) searches desperately "to fix a mistake" done in his past: the fear of to be repudiated in his avowal of love for Cécile (Catherine Deneuve), in despite of both we're involved in a whirligig passion in a remote summer of '70s (by the way, to her, the first love...). Antoine, now a rich entrepreneur of (construction) line of business meet again Cécile married with a doctor (Natan) born in that place who absolutely doesn't look Cécile as a goddess, like Antoine does. This becomes patent when, in a scene where both talk and Natan confesses that he has several lovers ("of all kind, all nationalities") and he is bored with his marriage... By her hand, Cécile does not love him anymore as before, because he reveals himself as a "heman" or because he treats his own son (Sami) in a careless way, ignoring completely his emotional feelings. In face of this situation, Cécile created a shell around her and this shell is a mixture of feminism and hardness in her relationship, mainly with men. That's obvious when she meets Antoine in a hotel room, after had repudiated him more than once... An accident put them together - same that in a provisory manner - occasion in which they will try to correct, no matter how lately, the "mistake" of the past. The interpretations: Gérard Depardieu is not so well as in the other roles, but he transmit us some tenderness while Catherine Deneuve "ravissante" (charming) in her 60 years give us an interpretation firm and faithful to psicologic shadows of her character. In a scale of 1 to 10, I vote : 8.

Time changes, Life changes, but True LOVE lasts Forever

[rajdoctor · 23 March 2021]

I saw this 2004 French movie.

The story is about a man Antoine (Gérard Depardieu) a successful civil engineer who manages to get posted to Tangiers (Morocco) to seek his 30 years back lost love Cecile (Catherine Deneuve) - who is running a French-Arabic radio programme. She is married twice - first marriage ended in divorce and a kid. Her second marriage is with a younger Morroccon physician Nathan (Gilbert MIlke) who has many mistresses. While Antoine is still unmarried waiting to win back Cecile's heart and love live a life together. He hires a lady Nabila (Nabila Baraka) to send anonymous flower bouquets to Cecile who is not interested in any love interest and thus throws flowers in the dust-bin. Nabila wants Antonie to get over his 30 year old LOVE-spell through witch-craft. Finally when Antonie meets Cecile, she is not interested at all. Cecile's friend Rachel (Tanya Lopert) pursues Cecile to have a brief fling rather than a committed life-long relationship with Antonie, thus she goes to Antonie's hotel room and makes love to him. Later, Antonie suffers a land-slide accident and goes in coma. Cecile and Nathan separate and when Antonie opens his eyes from coma, he finds Cecile holding his hand. The movie ends there.

There are a few sub-plots - 1) The first one of Cecile's son Sami (Malik Zidi) who has a live-in relationship with a single mother Nadia (Lubna Azabal) who has a son Said (Idir Elomri) who come and visit Cecile-Nathan's house. 2) The second sub-plot is Sami is also a homosexual with his boyfriend Bilal (Nadeem Rachati) 3) The third sub-plot is about Nadia and her twin sister Aicha (played again by Lubna Lubna Azabal) 4) The fourth sub-plot is that when Nadia is living in Cecile-Nathan's house, Nathan gets attracted towards Nadia. 5) The fifth sub-plot is after Nathan separates from Cecile he pursues to have an affair with Aicha - the look alike sister of Nadia.

But above all - the main plot is feel-good evergreen LOVE-story. Against the back-drop of various characters this ETERNAL, True, Pure AGAPE LOVE of a man for a woman of his dreamz is perfectly set. This is the dialogue said by Antoine to Cecile when they meet "The more I have tried to forget you - the more I am in LOVE with YOUz"

The Director - Andre Techine does a marvelous job in weaving several sub-plots together show-casing the flimsy lives of modern humans, who are so frivilous and jump from one relationship to another. Amidst all that - he makes Antoine stand TALL and STRONG - with blinded LOVE for Cecile.

Both Gerard and Catherine who play the main protagonist - have acted and done a marvelous job in enacting the feelings of love and lost-love honestly on screen. Both characters are absolutely "make-believe" ones.

The movie was critically and commercially successful and has won a few international awards and nominations - mainly for best picture and screenplay at Berlin and Cesar thus a lot of credit als has to go to the writers - Andre Techine, Laurent Guyot, and Pascal Bonitzer. .

A special mention to the song Moroccon Tumba sung by Angelique Kidja which is beautifully haunting and re-enacts the story of this movie through melodious lyrics.

One needs to have a bit of patience to sit, see and understand the life-styles of several sub-plot to various characters to fully appreciate the meaning of TRUE pure AGAPE LOVE.

I would go with 7 out of 10 for this movie.