August 30, 2025
FILM: SUSPENDED TIME
DIRECTED BY: OLIVIER ASSAYAS
STARRING: VINCENT BERGER, MICHA LESCOT, NORA HAMZAWI
RATING: 2 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There is a certain privilege to being a world re-known director. You get to make the kinds of films you want because people consider you an artist that should be able to paint the world as you see it. Olivier Assayas might be considered one of those directors. He’s been making films for over forty years, mostly in his native France. These include such art-house classics as Irma Vep, Summer Hours (which I loved), Clouds of Sils Maria (which I didn’t) and Personal Shopper (I scratched my head during that one.) His latest release is Suspended Time, which takes place just two months after the COVID breakout in 2020. Paul Berger (Vincent Macaigne) is sheltering in place with his brother Etienne (Micha Lescot) and their respective female partners in an old farm house that has been passed down through the family.
We all have stories we could tell about what that time was like. Many of us had relatives and friends pass away. Others were isolated from everyone. The question becomes where are all of those stories on screen? Why aren’t there more depictions of a time unlike any of us have known before in our lifetimes? Think of all the films about what people went through during World Wars I and II and Vietnam. How about 9/11? Hmm… Not so much. That may have more to do with the film industry’s movement away from socially focused movies to superhero and family oriented animated adventures. So, should we expect something more about the pandemic?
Assayas’s Suspended Time doesn’t exactly call out for similar stories because, apparently, there isn’t much for him to tell about it. The character of Paul does provide an interesting history of the farmhouse and its surrounding neighbor’s property through voice-over narration. We’re also presented with some really beautiful and lush landscapes. Viewers might be able to viscerally feel the branches on the trees and the tall grass the characters walk through thanks to the stunning cinematography. Most people would have been thrilled to be locked down in such a setting.
From there though, Assayas doesn’t attempt to tell a compelling story or provide a reason for us to revisit this period in our recent lives. Sure, we can identify with the needs for social distancing and mask wearing once characters leave the property. There are also Zoom calls and online therapy sessions. We were all there. There are scenes of the characters listening to music and discussing films to watch. Paul and Etienne reminisce about their pasts. Again, relatable if not particularly original.
The few conflicts that add some momentum to the narrative involve Paul’s anxiety over wiping down food deliveries and other concerns for the admitted germaphobe. At one point, Etienne gets so frustrated with Paul’s required food protocols that they have a big blow out. Other than that and concerns about loud media volumes in the house, there’s not a lot that makes for a gripping or original story here.
The most interesting parts come near the end as Paul reflects on what this lockdown has meant for him. Unlike others, he actually views it as a “miraculous time out” and “a start over.” Etienne wants his freedom back but Paul enjoys his confinement and actually fears the end of lockdown which also has a positive effect on his relationship with his girlfriend. This, I think, is a fascinating perspective that doesn’t get mentioned enough in our discussions of that time. Personally, I enjoyed my time at home with my husband. It served as a great bridge to ultimately retiring from teaching.
However, the film as a whole doesn’t do much with the effects of COVID on people hunkering down together. It’s a small slice of one man’s life that, if made by anyone other than a famous director, might be completely written off. It’s a beautiful film to look at and the performances are good but this isn’t the film to launch further, more interesting stories about how that pandemic effected people, perhaps forever.
Suspended Time is playing in limited theatrical release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.
FILM: SUSPENDED TIME
DIRECTED BY: OLIVIER ASSAYAS
STARRING: VINCENT BERGER, MICHA LESCOT, NORA HAMZAWI
RATING: 2 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There is a certain privilege to being a world re-known director. You get to make the kinds of films you want because people consider you an artist that should be able to paint the world as you see it. Olivier Assayas might be considered one of those directors. He’s been making films for over forty years, mostly in his native France. These include such art-house classics as Irma Vep, Summer Hours (which I loved), Clouds of Sils Maria (which I didn’t) and Personal Shopper (I scratched my head during that one.) His latest release is Suspended Time, which takes place just two months after the COVID breakout in 2020. Paul Berger (Vincent Macaigne) is sheltering in place with his brother Etienne (Micha Lescot) and their respective female partners in an old farm house that has been passed down through the family.
We all have stories we could tell about what that time was like. Many of us had relatives and friends pass away. Others were isolated from everyone. The question becomes where are all of those stories on screen? Why aren’t there more depictions of a time unlike any of us have known before in our lifetimes? Think of all the films about what people went through during World Wars I and II and Vietnam. How about 9/11? Hmm… Not so much. That may have more to do with the film industry’s movement away from socially focused movies to superhero and family oriented animated adventures. So, should we expect something more about the pandemic?
Assayas’s Suspended Time doesn’t exactly call out for similar stories because, apparently, there isn’t much for him to tell about it. The character of Paul does provide an interesting history of the farmhouse and its surrounding neighbor’s property through voice-over narration. We’re also presented with some really beautiful and lush landscapes. Viewers might be able to viscerally feel the branches on the trees and the tall grass the characters walk through thanks to the stunning cinematography. Most people would have been thrilled to be locked down in such a setting.
From there though, Assayas doesn’t attempt to tell a compelling story or provide a reason for us to revisit this period in our recent lives. Sure, we can identify with the needs for social distancing and mask wearing once characters leave the property. There are also Zoom calls and online therapy sessions. We were all there. There are scenes of the characters listening to music and discussing films to watch. Paul and Etienne reminisce about their pasts. Again, relatable if not particularly original.
The few conflicts that add some momentum to the narrative involve Paul’s anxiety over wiping down food deliveries and other concerns for the admitted germaphobe. At one point, Etienne gets so frustrated with Paul’s required food protocols that they have a big blow out. Other than that and concerns about loud media volumes in the house, there’s not a lot that makes for a gripping or original story here.
The most interesting parts come near the end as Paul reflects on what this lockdown has meant for him. Unlike others, he actually views it as a “miraculous time out” and “a start over.” Etienne wants his freedom back but Paul enjoys his confinement and actually fears the end of lockdown which also has a positive effect on his relationship with his girlfriend. This, I think, is a fascinating perspective that doesn’t get mentioned enough in our discussions of that time. Personally, I enjoyed my time at home with my husband. It served as a great bridge to ultimately retiring from teaching.
However, the film as a whole doesn’t do much with the effects of COVID on people hunkering down together. It’s a small slice of one man’s life that, if made by anyone other than a famous director, might be completely written off. It’s a beautiful film to look at and the performances are good but this isn’t the film to launch further, more interesting stories about how that pandemic effected people, perhaps forever.
Suspended Time is playing in limited theatrical release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.