“Out of time”, this is the name of the new film by Olivier Assayas, in theaters this Wednesday, June 19. A stretched out, almost unreal time, which the characters played by Nora Hamzawi and Vincent Macaigne tame during confinement. Isolated in a country house, they readjust their daily lives to the rhythm of the poetry instilled by the filmmaker.
“I have the impression of always looking for places where there could be freedom, whether in series, in French or international independent cinema.” Director Olivier Assayas is viscerally attached to this question of freedom in his films. Sils Maria, Cuban Network or Sentimental destinies. And there is no exception in his last film Out of timereleased this June 19, whose diegesis takes place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Freedom of action, of acting, of mind… The child of the New Wave, was introduced to these notions through contact with this cinematographic movement born at the end of the 1950s. -premiere of his new film screened at the Cinémathèque française this Monday, June 17, Olivier Assayas explains that he has kept throughout his career the same view of the world, tinged with truth and poetry.
In Out of time, Paul, director (Vincent Macaigne) is confined with his brother Étienne (Micha Lescot), music journalist, in their family home in the countryside. At their side, their companions Morgane (Nora Hamzawi) and Carole (Nine D’Urso). A cohabitation conducive to the resurgence of their childhood memories mixed with a present troubled by the pandemic. As fiction meets reality, the character of Paul is intended to be a double of the director. This nineteenth feature film by the filmmaker was born on the set of the television mini-series Irma Vep of which it would be in some way “le post-script”. During the breaks, Vincent Macaigne, who plays one of the main roles, begins to imitate Olivier Assayas. What could have remained a simple joke led the model of this improvised sketch to question his identity. For his next film, the autobiographical part must no longer hide behind fiction. Out of time was born. A dramatic comedy where he injected “his moments of doubt, questioning and anguish” in his father’s house. What to do with all these memories? The answer will be a new film…
The rediscovery of everyday poetry
The strength ofOut of time lies in this poetry that is both joyful and nostalgic, paradoxically distilled during the tragic period of the pandemic. Considering himself an artist-poet, Olivier Assayas brings us into his universe where the verses become one with the nature that surrounds him. The film begins with a meticulous description, room by room, of this country house, the heart of the plot.
Guided by the filmmaker’s voiceover, we are immersed inside this place full of memorieslulled by the chirping of birds and the wind that sweeps the trees surrounding the property. “Cinema is also about trying to capture something that escapes us. To seek this sensitive and indescribable thing”, summarizes Vincent Macaigne.
Rethought habits
To occupy their minds and reassure themselves in their own way, Paul and Étienne have their little quirks, intensified by the Covid-19 health context. While Paul insists (a little too much) on barrier gestures and on all the craziest recommendations he reads on the Internet, his brother Étienne does not leave his crepe maker, the materialization of his new food obsession. The film takes a fair look at this period marked by the banal gestures of everyday life then readjusted to the instructions in force. Faced with a death that constantly lurks, the sensations are increased tenfold. The laughter is as powerful as the arguments, exacerbated by this promiscuity. The film ultimately tells how an event (that of the pandemic) serves as a pretext to ask existential questions.
Nora Hamzawi, who admitted wanting to star in all of Olivier Assayas’ next films, explains that the director has this ability to bring together something contemporary, anecdotal with more philosophical concerns about the notions of life and death. Brutally plunged back into their childhood, the two men ultimately remained the same in a constantly changing world. An intimate exploration that leaves us too with unanswered questions.
