Review of Time to Leave (2005) by Janice : — 01 Dec 2007

"...you and I are the same. We're both going to die soon."In Time to Leave (Le Temps Qui Reste), thirty year-old Romain (Melvil Poupaud), a successful fashion photography, is diagnosed with cancer, and his prognosis is not good.

He decides to forego the chemotherapy that would give him a slim chance of prolonged survival, and, unable to tell his boyfriend - who he subsequently breaks up with - or his immediate family, he instead confides only in his grandmother (Jeane Moreau).

From there, he tries to find acceptance and meaning in his mortality, and is given an opportunity he never thought he would have after a chance encounter with a waitress. This is a lyrical, intimate and economical film, without even a hint of artifice in the writing or the performances (Melvil Poupaud is surely an actor to watch).

Refreshingly free from sentimentality, with realistic characters - Romain is not exactly a hero and doesn't become one in the course of the film - and a script with few words but which has a lot to say.

Writer-director François Ozon filmed Time to Leave in cinemascope, an interesting choice for such a small-scale film, but one that rewards with a staggeringly, beautifully shot denouement. A thoughtful, moving film.