Colours of Time
Though it carries the air of one, Colours of Time is not a film about art – or at least, not in the way one might expect from a work so thoroughly steeped in artists, paintings and the wistful evocations of nineteenth-century Parisian ateliers. Cédric Klapisch’s latest coming-of-age drama places art as backdrop rather than centrepiece – a faded canvas against which personal dramas quietly unfold.
The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present, four distant cousins gather in Normandy to sort through the remnants of a family home destined for commercial redevelopment. Amid the dust and disrepair, they uncover a mysterious portrait of their ancestor Adèle (Suzanne Lindon) – and with it, the first brushstrokes of their shared history. Yet it’s the descent into the past – 1895, to be precise – where its heart truly lies.
In this earlier strand, Klapisch strikes a far more lyrical note. Adèle, fleeing her provincial life in search of a mother long vanished into the Paris demi-monde, crosses paths with two young artists, Lucien and Anatole. Their dreams are vast and their pockets empty, yet they radiate a bohemian optimism that feels strikingly timeless. Klapisch is at his sharpest when exploring the idea of the city as muse – a site of seductive ambition that can just as easily nurture as devour. And while Lucien and Anatole’s near-instant artistic success may strain credibility, it serves the film’s broader thesis: that the city reflects back the dreams projected onto it. Adèle’s modelling aspirations – shadowed by her mother’s similarly ill-fated pursuits decades earlier – hover somewhere between the hopeful and the haunting. It’s a fable that echoes modern cautionary tales like The Neon Demon (2016) or Ladytron’s Seventeen.
Unfortunately, the present-day cousins are similarly clichéd, but lack any of the romanticism – often veering into caricature. The budding romance between careerist Céline (Julia Piaton) and Guy (Vincent Macaigne), a beekeeper who appreciates the little things in life, feels lifted straight from a Hallmark movie. The remaining cousins fare no better: Seb (Abraham Wapler), a content creator caught between his vapid influencer girlfriend and an aspiring singer played by French musician Pomme; and Abdel, a retired French teacher who leaves only a faint impression in the final scene.
Still, for all its unevenness, Colours of Time unfolds with a certain charm. It’s a film about what we inherit – not just objects, but places, dreams and ghosts – and how memory blurs into myth with each passing generation.
Christina Yang
Colours of Time does not have a release date yet.
Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival coverage here.
For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.
Watch the trailer for Colours of Time here:
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