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 19^th-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 is released nationwide on 17^th April 2026.

Watch the trailer for Colours of Time here: