One of my favourite films of the past few years is on BBC4 this Saturday. They have a short preview of the film on their site, which is part of their regular international film season on Saturday evenings.
I really enjoyed time-out, or L'emploi du temps as it was known in France. I think the french title is better, the emphasis on filling in time is more apt. I have found that has continually returned to my thoughts. The essence of the film is the balance of your identity versus the identity you gain from having a job. The main character of the film loses his job and attempts to cover by doing the same things each day. He has always enjoyed the driving and this starts to become his solice. He pretends that everything is fine and gradually he drifts into a different more desperate world, yet the parallels with his business man existance are still there, which is the disturbing undercurrent of the film. It is maybe a different take on the fragility of routine and civilization explored in Lord of the Flies. The mood of the film is quite empty and dark, but dramtically scored and shot, this seems to make his isolation even more stark.
Elements of the film keep coming back to me from time to time, around travelling and the question of what am I doing when things seem interminable. How much of you is your job is an interesting question, especially given the number of people who I know who have been made redundant over the past few years, including myself. Through the film you can start to see how people end up long term unemployed, being unemployed becomes your job.
If you miss the film on Saturday, you can always buy it from Amazon, Time Out (L'Emploi du temps), in French, with English sub-titles.
film review: October 2003 Archives
I'm off to the London Film Festival later this month, having fought with the ticket booking website last Thursday to get some tickets bought. There should be tickets left for many films, but we were being allocated edge seats already.
I'm going to see five films, including the Surprise film, Strayed, One for the Road, Northfolk and A Real Man. Short reviews of each film after I've seen them.
There are so many films that this literally is a mere scrape of the surface. If you are in London, then go see some films. Again, like Borough Market this is something I should have been to years ago.
