Time of the Wolf

Last updated

Le temps du loup
Letempsduloup.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Michael Haneke
Written byMichael Haneke
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJürgen Jürges
Edited by Monika Willi
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 20 May 2003 (2003-05-20)(Cannes)
  • 8 October 2003 (2003-10-08)(France)
Running time
113 minutes [1]
Countries
  • France
  • Austria
  • Germany
Languages
  • French
  • Romanian
Budget €8.82 million [2]
(est. US$10 million)
Box office$499,149 [3]

Time of the Wolf (French : Le temps du loup) is a 2003 French dystopian post-apocalyptic drama film written and directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. Set in France at an undisclosed time, the plot follows the story of a family: Georges (Daniel Duval), Anne (Isabelle Huppert), and their two children, Eva (Anaïs Demoustier) and Ben (Lucas Biscombe). The film also stars Olivier Gourmet and Serge Riaboukine.

Contents

The film takes its title from Völuspá , an ancient Norse poem which describes the time before the Ragnarök. It received positive reviews. [4]

Plot

A disaster of some type has occurred, of which the audience only knows that uncontaminated water is scarce and livestock have to be burned. Having fled Paris, the Laurent family arrives at their country home, hoping to find refuge and security, only to discover that it is already occupied by strangers.

The family is assaulted by the strangers and forced to leave, with no supplies or transport. As they seek help from people they have known in the village, they are repeatedly turned away. The family makes its way to a train station where they wait with other survivors in the hope that a train will stop for them and take them back to the city.

Cast

Release

Time of the Wolf was screened in the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, out of competition. [5] Patrice Chéreau, a member of that year's jury, stars in the film, which made the film ineligible for any award. The film also screened at the Sitges Film Festival where it won Best Screenplay and was in the running for Best Film. The film was released on DVD in 2004, and included a film trailer and brief biographies of the lead cast, besides the film. [6]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Time of the Wolf holds an approval rating of 64%, based on 56 reviews, and an average rating of 6.2/10. Its consensus reads, "A lean and unsettling thriller." [7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". [8] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave Time of the Wolf 4 out of 5, [9] while Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine gave it 3 out of 4. [10]

Desson Thomson of The Washington Post commented that "[he] would rather have a more interesting group of desperate people to spend my post-apocalyptic time with" [11] while A.O. Scott of The New York Times said that "You can feel frightened and disturbed by this movie without being especially moved by it". [12] According to Scott Foundas of the Variety Magazine , "Haneke demonstrates profound insight into the essence of human behavior when all humility is pared away, raw panic and despair are the order of the day, and man becomes more like wolf than man." [13]

William Thomas of the Empire Online gave the film 2 out of 5, saying in his closing comments that "A superb European cast is wasted on a portrait of social breakdown that really has very little to say for itself". [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Huppert</span> French actress (born 1953)

Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert is a French actress. Known for her portrayals of cold, austere women devoid of morality, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. With 16 nominations and two wins, Huppert is the most nominated actress at the César Awards. She is also the recipient of several accolades, including five Lumières Awards, a BAFTA Award, three European Film Awards, two Berlin International Film Festival, three Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival honors, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her second on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

<i>The Piano Teacher</i> (film) 2001 film by Michael Haneke

The Piano Teacher is a 2001 erotic psychological drama film written and directed by Michael Haneke, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Elfriede Jelinek. It tells the story of an unmarried piano teacher at a Vienna conservatory, living with her mother in a state of emotional and sexual disequilibrium, who enters into a sadomasochistic relationship with her student. A co-production between France and Austria, Haneke was given the opportunity to direct after previous attempts to adapt the novel by filmmakers Valie Export and Paulus Manker collapsed for financial reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Haneke</span> Austrian filmmaker (born 1942)

Michael Haneke is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, German, and English and has worked in television and theatre. He also teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Ionesco</span> French actress and director

Eva Ionesco is a French actress and filmmaker. She is the daughter of photographer Irina Ionesco and came to international prominence as a child model after being featured in her mother's works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrice Chéreau</span> French opera and theatre director

Patrice Chéreau was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films La Reine Margot and Intimacy, and for his staging of the Jahrhundertring, the centenary Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival in 1976. Winner of almost twenty movie awards, including the Cannes Jury Prize and the Golden Berlin Bear, Chéreau served as president of the jury at the 2003 Cannes festival.

The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in Brussels, Belgium. It has members in more than 50 countries worldwide.

<i>Caché</i> (film) 2005 European film

Caché, also known as Hidden, is a 2005 neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Michael Haneke and starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche. The plot follows an upper-middle-class French couple, Georges (Auteuil) and Anne (Binoche), who are terrorised by anonymous tapes that appear on their front porch and seem to show the family is under surveillance. Clues in the videos point to Georges's childhood memories, and his resistance to his parents' adopting an Algerian orphan named Majid, who was sent away. The tapes lead him to the now-grown Majid.

<i>Time Regained</i> (film) 1999 French film

Time Regained is a 1999 French psychological drama film directed by the Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. It is an adaptation of the 1927 final volume of the seven-volume series In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. The plot is about the anonymous narrator of In Search of Lost Time who reflects on his past experiences while lying on his deathbed.

<i>Time to Leave</i> 2005 film by François Ozon

Time to Leave is a 2005 French drama film written and directed by François Ozon. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Gabrielle</i> (2005 film) 2005 film directed by Patrice Chéreau

Gabrielle is a 2005 French film directed by Patrice Chéreau. It is a screen adaptation of Joseph Conrad's short story The Return.

Maurice Bénichou was a French actor. His best known roles include three collaborations with director Michael Haneke, and a part in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie. He has also played in Peter Brook's 1989 film version of The Mahabharata.

Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train is a 1998 French drama film directed by Patrice Chéreau and written by Chéreau, Danièle Thompson and Pierre Trividic. It stars Pascal Greggory, Vincent Perez, Charles Berling and Dominique Blanc.

<i>Amour</i> (2012 film) 2012 film by Michael Haneke

Amour is a 2012 romantic drama film written and directed by the Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert. The narrative focuses on an elderly couple, Anne and Georges, who are retired music teachers with a daughter who lives abroad. Anne has a stroke that paralyses the right side of her body. The film is an international co-production among the French, German, and Austrian companies Les Films du Losange, X-Filme Creative Pool, and Wega Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaïs Demoustier</span> French actress (born 1987)

Anaïs Aude Marie Michèle Demoustier is a French actress. She was nominated for Most Promising Actress twice at the César Awards, in 2009 for Les Grandes Personnes and in 2010 for Living on Love Alone. In 2019, she won the César for Best Actress for her performance in the film Alice and the Mayor.

<i>Bird People</i> (film) 2014 film

Bird People is a 2014 French drama film directed by Pascale Ferran and starring Josh Charles and Anaïs Demoustier. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Elle</i> (film) 2016 film by Paul Verhoeven

Elle is a 2016 psychological thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven from a screenplay by David Birke, based on the 2012 novel Oh... by Philippe Djian. The film stars Isabelle Huppert as a businesswoman who is raped in her home by a masked assailant.

<i>Happy End</i> (2017 film) 2017 film

Happy End is a 2017 drama film written and directed by Michael Haneke, and starring Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, who had also played daughter and father in Haneke's 2012 film Amour.

<i>Anaïs in Love</i> 2021 French comedy film

Anaïs in Love is a 2021 French comedy film directed by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet. The film was shown in the Critics' Week section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Along Came Love is a 2023 Belgian-French drama film directed by Katell Quillévéré. It stars Anaïs Demoustier and Vincent Lacoste.

References

  1. ↑ "LES TEMPS DU LOUP - TIME OF THE WOLF (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 22 August 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Le Temps du loup (Time of the Wolf) (2003)". JP's Box-Office. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Time of the Wolf". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (17 October 2003). "Time of the Wolf". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Time of the Wolf". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Megahey, Noel. "Time Of The Wolf Review". The Digital Fix. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ↑ "Time of the Wolf (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Time of the Wolf". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Time of the Wolf". The Guardian . 16 October 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Gonzalez, Ed (1 March 2004). "Review: The Time of the Wolf". Slant Magazine .
  11. ↑ Thomson, Desson (23 July 2004). "'Wolf': Apocalypse Redux". p. WE39.
  12. ↑ Scott, A.O. (24 June 2004). "Film Review; In Search of Food, Water and Human Kindness After an Ecological Catastrophe". The New York Times . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ↑ Foundas, Scott (20 May 2003). "Time of the Wolf". Variety .
  14. ↑ Thompson, William (1 January 2000). "Time Of The Wolf Review". Empire Online. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.