“TIME TO LEAVE” An almost perfect movie Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride “Time to Leave” (Strand Releasing) arrived yesterday and it is really something. It is one of those rare movies that holds your interest from start to finish. In fact, it even does more than hold your interest—it mesmerizes. I would even go so far as to say that “Time to Leave” is a perfect movie. It is gorgeously acted, beautifully filmed; the script is literate and sensitive. It has everything going for it. It will move you like few movies can. Directed by Francois Ozun, “Time to Leave” is a French film that deals with a high profile 31 year old fashion photographer who is diagnosed with a brain tumor and has a very short time to live. As Romain, a good looking gay man comes to terms with this lot in life, he decides not to disclose his condition t anyone except his grandmother, beautifully portrayed by legendary French actress, Jeanne Moreau. As the seriousness of his illness sets in, Romain becomes cruel to his lover, rude to his pregnant sister and uncommunicative to his mother and father. This is a feel-good tender movie about death and I realize that the statement is somewhat of oxymoron. You have to see the movie to understand why I say that. Is it possible to feel good about a beautiful young man dying at his prime? I don’t know why but I felt good the entire time I watched this brilliant movie. One of the amazing qualities of this movie is its attitude toward being gay. The main character is gay and when he learns that his life is almost over, he begins a voyage of debauchery and descends into a world of anonymous sex. But that is not what “Time to Leave” is about. Being gay is not even an issue in the film and it just happens to be—nothing more. The idea of saying goodbye is not a new one in the cinematic world. The farewell to the earth here is expressed in a novel way and death becomes a welcome relief for Romain. It appears that the director was influenced by the goodness of mankind and the tenderness of life. There are some issues with political correctness but the way Ozun has woven his story, they are glorious. It is obviously Ozun’s love for life that guided him to direct this movie. I was extremely moved by the movie but it did not leave me depressed as death usually does. Instead, it uplifted my spirit and made me realize how much death is a part of life. The movie haunted me and still haunts me. Romain explains why he trusts his grandmother with the news of his impending death. It is because she is nearing the end of her life even though she is healthy. The scene between Melvil Poupaud (Romain) and his grandmother, Laura will tug at you. As Romain drives away after telling his grandmother that he is going to die soon, you feel as if you have to cry yet you don’t. The exchange between the two of them is moving and tender and you don’t succumb to the morose but rather are uplifted. The existentialism of the plot provides the thoughtful sequences we see on the screen. The question that the film asks is if it is possible to find peace at the end of life. This becomes an even harder question when life is stripped away at a young age. This is a candid film which is sexy and hypnotic. It seems to me to be a very personal study of life in the face of death. If you are still not sure how you feel about the movie when it is over, the bonus features may clear up any questions you might have I do not understand why the deleted scenes were deleted because to me they further explain the life/death experience and the featurette on the making of the film gives excellent insight. This is one that you should not miss. Here is an example of what a movie should be.

Review Submitted by: Amos Lassen

This film definitely has great actors, is beautifully filmed and takes you inside the mind of a person who is dying. There were many moments that captured the essence in a very real way. People are different, and there is no way to know how any individual would react, but I found the description about the principal "alienating his family & friends" and watching him being deliberately cruel quite different. For example; even after he came to his senses, he didn`t apologize to his sister, he simply explained. Perhaps the movie was trying to capture how a moderately wealthy, successful, jet-setting individual reacts when he is terminally ill at a young age. If so, mission accomplished. Having said that, if you have seen several films where the principal is terminally ill, I can`t say there is any new ground broken here.

Review Submitted by: Rik Lapham