ECOUTE LE TEMPS aka FISSURES is a
poetic and compelling experience. Charlotte is a film sound engineer who comes to her mother’s house after
her mother is murdered. She starts to hear the sounds of the past from the house
as she starts to record sounds in the cracking house (which will fall apart soon).
She starts to trace the moments of the past through different areas in the living room.
She searches for the moment of her Mom’s murder. She learns about
her Mom’s life and even hears the moments of her own life.
FISSURES is like what if you took someone
like Andrei Tarkovsky and reincarnated him as a director who makes a mystery thriller.
Unlike Tarkovsky, the film isn’t slow and hypnotic. It doesn’t
overstay its welcome. Its poetic flow keeps you watching as the past as revealed
and you learn about Charlotte, her mom, and the people of the village who say Charlotte’s
mom is a witch. Charlotte’s
mom is actually a clairvoyant. It is what caused a strained relationship between
Charlotte and her mom. ECOUTE LE TEMPS (aka FISSURES) is more about a daughter
discovering her mother while regretting she can’t repair their strained relationship.
Finding out who killed her mother is more of an afterthought while the psychology of Charlotte’s
mind is the true focus of ECOUT LE TEMPS. It is a film that takes us across
the spatial landscapes of two lives, a daughter and a mom who is now gone. The house cracking in a way represents a fractured relationship between mother
and daughter. The closer the daughter gets to the moment of her mother’s
death, the closer the house gets to dying itself. The film relies a lot on sound
and visuals to create a unique thriller- a film that is a satisfying experience for the viewer.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The only extra is a long theatrical trailer
of FISSURES. I wish there was an audio commentary or a featurette. I would love to know more about the making of it.
FINAL ANALYSIS: FISSURES aka ECOUTE LE TEMPS is a promising start from a first time writer/ director. It will be interesting to see what Alante Kavate does next.
This DVD review is (c)7-4-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
