Time Indefinite

Last updated

Time Indefinite
Directed by Ross McElwee
Written byRoss McElwee
CinematographyRoss McElwee
Running time
114 min.
LanguageEnglish

Time Indefinite is an autobiographical 1993 documentary film directed by Ross McElwee. It explores themes of grief, mortality, and the convenient disconnection of watching life through a camera lens.

Contents

The title comes from a passage from the Bible mentioned by a visiting Jehovah's Witness. McElwee is filming the interaction and focused on adjusting the exposure to try to catch the play of light over the man's face; distracted, he "hears" the phrase about 30 seconds after the man says it and understands it to refer to the unpredictable imminence of death.

Synopsis

In the film, director Ross McElwee gets married, finally putting an end to his family's worrying; his grandmother dies; his wife Marilyn has a miscarriage; and his father, a medical doctor, dies suddenly within a week of McElwee's wife's miscarriage. His mother had died of cancer ten years earlier and so McElwee returns to his father's house, where his father's housekeeper ministers to him about Christianity and faith.

McElwee goes to visit his friend Charleen, who is now living alone in a new apartment. She had lived on an island in an old two-story house abandoned by the U.S. Army; she and her husband worked to restore it and lived together there for years before becoming estranged. Charleen then lived there alone, but on returning home from a trip she finds that her husband has set fire to the house and died downstairs at the grand piano in an arson/suicide. Charleen has her husband's cremated remains in a bag inside a box and tries to get rid of them but can't bring herself to do it.

McElwee's brother is a successful doctor; on a visit to his brother's practice, Ross talks with his brother about their father's death, which took them both by surprise. Ross's brother receives a patient who has a large malignant tumor on her breast; the woman has had the tumor for years without seeking medical help. Ross's brother takes a slide of the tumor for his files; it has spread across much of her chest and is both multifaceted and multicolored. Ross incorporates his brother's interview with the woman—and the slide his brother takes—into his film, musing in voiceover about motivation and fatality and marvelling at the power of denial.

Eventually Ross abandons the film, only to continue it later: his wife is pregnant. The pregnancy comes to term and Ross and Marilyn go with their baby son to visit Charleen, who criticizes them for bringing children into such a hostile and unpredictable world but speaks to the passion that drives life and procreation. Ross and Marilyn dote on their son and seem largely unbothered by the criticism.

Year-end lists

Related Research Articles

Ross McElwee is an American documentary filmmaker known for his autobiographical films about his family and personal life, usually interwoven with an episodic journey that intersects with larger political or philosophical issues. His humorous and often self-deprecating films refer to cultural aspects of his Southern upbringing. He received the Career Award at the 2007 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Charleen is a 1977 observational documentary film directed and shot by Ross McElwee, about his friend and former poetry teacher, Charleen Swansea.

<i>Six OClock News</i> (film) 1996 American film

Six O'Clock News is a 1996 documentary film by Ross McElwee about television news in the United States, the randomness of fate, the anxiety of parenting, and the difference between representation and reality. The film is the subject of scholarly study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Greene</span> Fictional character from ER

Mark Greene, M.D. is a fictional character from the American medical drama series ER. Portrayed by actor Anthony Edwards, he first appeared in the series' pilot episode, as well as subsequently appearing as one of the principal characters until the end of the eighth season. Edwards later returned to make a guest appearance in the fifteenth season episode "Heal Thyself".

Bright Leaves is a 2003 United States/United Kingdom documentary film by independent filmmaker Ross McElwee about the association his family had with the tobacco industry. Bright Leaves had its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Bay</span> Fictional coastal town

Summer Bay is the fictional coastal town featured in the Australian soap opera, Home and Away, located in rural coastal New South Wales. Palm Beach, the northernmost beach in Sydney, is used for the show's exterior scenes to depict the Bay. Between 2010 and 2014, the Lane Cove River Tourist Park in Macquarie Park was used as the location for filming of scenes involving the Summer Bay Caravan Park.

<i>Želary</i> 2003 Czech/Slovak film

Želary is a 2003 Czech/Slovak film directed by Ondřej Trojan and starring Anna Geislerová. The film received a 2004 Academy Award nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category. It was produced by Barrandov Studios in Prague.

<i>Petals on the Wind</i> Novel by V. C. Andrews

Petals on the Wind is a novel written by V. C. Andrews in 1980. It is the second book in the Dollanganger series. The timeline takes place from the siblings' successful escape in November 1960 to the fall of 1975. The book, like the others in the series, was a number one best-seller in North America in the early 1980s. In 2014, it was adapted into a Lifetime original movie.

Donald Fisher (<i>Home and Away</i>) Soap opera character

Donald Fisher is a fictional character in the Australian television soap opera Home and Away played by actor Norman Coburn as a regular character, from the soap's inception in 1988 to 2003. The role initially had the name Raymond Phillips however producers changed the name prior to final filming. He acts as the main antagonist in the show's pilot episode, willing to go to any lengths to ensure local teen Bobby Simpson is locked up, however his character soon softens. He spends almost his entire tenure on the show as the Principal of Summer Bay, where he is stern but fair to all the students. Although departing as a main character in 2003, Coburn has since returned for brief appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Coburn's long-running portrayal of Fisher earned him a place in the 2002 Guinness World Records alongside castmates Ray Meagher and Kate Ritchie as the longest serving cast member of an Australian soap opera.

<i>Olive Kitteridge</i> 2008 novel by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge is a 2008 novel or short story cycle by American author Elizabeth Strout. Set in Maine in the fictional coastal town of Crosby, it comprises 13 stories that are interrelated but narratively discontinuous and non-chronological. Olive Kitteridge is a main character in some stories and has a lesser or cameo role in others. Six of the stories had been published in periodicals between 1992 and 2007.

Maternal death in fiction is a common theme encountered in literature, movies, and other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle Manning</span> Soap opera character

Danielle Manning is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live. Created by writer Ron Carlivati, the role was originated on October 23, 2009 by Kelley Missal, who remained in the role through the ABC Daytime finale on January 12, 2012. Missal reprised the role when new daily episodes of One Life to Live debuted on Hulu, iTunes, and FX Canada via The Online Network April 29, 2013.

<i>Follow the Stars Home</i> 2001 television film directed by Dick Lowry

Follow the Stars Home is a 2001 American made-for-television romantic drama film directed by Dick Lowry. The film is based upon Luanne Rice's 2000 novel of the same name and was produced for the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

<i>Aval Sumangalithan</i> 1985 film

Aval Sumangalithan is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Visu. Based on his play of the same name, the film stars Karthik and Ilavarasi. It was released on 19 July 1985. The film was remade in Telugu as Punyasthree (1986).

Love Lives On is a fact-based TV film that aired on ABC on April 1, 1985. It was directed by Larry Peerce and starred Mary Stuart Masterson.

<i>Kaleidoscope</i> (1990 film) 1990 American TV series or program

Kaleidoscope, also known as Danielle Steel's Kaleidoscope, is a 1990 made-for-television romantic drama film directed by Jud Taylor. The film is based upon the 1987 novel of the same name by Danielle Steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Pearl Baker</span> American mother of Marilyn Monroe (1902–1984)

Gladys Pearl Monroe, also known as Gladys Pearl Monroe Baker Mortensen Eley, was the mother of American actress Marilyn Monroe. Born in Mexico, Baker grew up in the Los Angeles metro area. Her father died in 1909 after suffering from mental illness and alcoholism.

References

  1. Turan, Kenneth (December 25, 1994). "1994: YEAR IN REVIEW : No Weddings, No Lions, No Gumps". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 20, 2020.