Time Regained (Le Temps retrouvé)

Raúl Ruiz directed Time Regained (Le Temps retrouvé), a large-scale period drama of the mind made jointly by France, Italy and Portugal. Its source is the last of the seven volumes of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, which appeared in 1927. Ruiz wrote the screenplay with Gilles Taurand. Dated 1999 by most sources, the film was entered into that year's Cannes Film Festival, and it appears on the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" list.

The story opens in Paris in 1922, with Proust close to the end of his life, looking through photographs with his assistant Céleste on his deathbed. As he reflects, he recalls episodes of his life and realises again how much the people around him, friends and lovers alike, shaped his work. Marcello Mazzarella plays Proust. Catherine Deneuve is Odette de Crécy, Emmanuelle Béart is Gilberte and Vincent Perez is Morel; John Malkovich, Pascal Greggory, Marie-France Pisier, Chiara Mastroianni and Elsa Zylberstein also appear.

Choosing the last volume lets the film refer to the whole novel: the "lady in pink" episode from the first volume, Swann's Way, is shown as a flashback. Gémini Films and Blu Cinematografica are named among the production companies. The film sets a writer's memories against the spirit of his time.