SUSPENDED TIME Review: Brief Utopia in Olivier Assayas' COVID-19 Film

There were more than a few challenges for filmmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For Miguel Gomes, lockdown with all the safety protocols was a source of inspiration to make a small, intimate comedy, The Tsugua Diaries (2021). Radu Jude made a stock footage-laden satire, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021), whereas Jia Zhangke gave it a grander historical context in Caught by the Tides (2024).

But for other filmmakers, the period was a time of frustrations and gave them a complete pause in their artistic endeavors. The prolonged lockdown, and strict safety protocols on set and social distancing made it almost impossible for filmmaking to take place, which is a highly communal art. Although the pandemic happened only a short time ago (even though it feels like it's been ages), enough time has passed to look back at this 'suspended time'.

For French auteur Olivier Assayas, one of most astute observers of our changing times, this reflection is perhaps his most personal and autobiographical film to date. Narrated by Assayas himself, Suspended Time takes place in a country house where Assayas grew up.

Brothers Paul (Vincent Macaigne) and Etienne (Micha Lescot), and their girlfriends, Morgane (Nine D'Urso) and Carol (Nora Hamzawi), are riding out the lockdown together. Paul is a film director (Assayas's alterego) and Etienne a music journalist (based on Mitchka Assayas, Olivier's brother and journalist). Going through a messy divorce, and not being able to work, Etienne is less than happy being stuck with his brother as a grown-up. Also, Paul's hypochondriac tendencies when it comes to all the COVID precautions aren't helping the matter.

All the habits and tendencies during lockdowns are examined with humor: masks, gloves, countless Amazon deliveries for stuff you don't need, shopping for groceries.... The brothers bicker about letting the packages and groceries stay outside before taking them in, cleaning the floors and how to cook ripe strawberries. They both engage in their work via the internet while trying to be as inobtrusive to others as possible: Facetiming a therapist in the garden, talking to an ex and their daughter, taking an online yoga class, delving into cooking perfect crepes.

Assayas narrates many of the details of his childhood home and its surroundings: a house with his dad's extensive book collections, the memories of his parents' separation, mom's forbidden room, a creaky kitchen door, a large estate next to his parents' house owned by his neighbors, who let them use their property as kids, the tennis court, large idyllic gardens.

However restrictive and scary the lockdown is, Paul's days are filled with peace and tranquility, thanks in large part to Morgane, a girlfriend of two years, whom he never had a chance to live with, but the pandemic inadvertently gave them an opportunity to do so. They reflect on their time together and a self-imposed exile that is forced upon their lives.

For Paul, stuck in his childhood house, it all gives him a brief utopia, an almost therapeutic reprieve, even though no one knew how long it would last or the impact it would have on the future. It wasn't a renewal, a change in the new world order as many had secretly or openly hoped. It was a mere pause.

With Suspended Time, Assayas is channeling an Eric Rohmer vibe, an idyllic, vacation movie, full of reflections. Macaigne is great as his neurotic alterego, as a germaphobe, neurotic self, talking about considering Kristen Stewart as the famous Portuguese nun, a literary sensation from the 17th century, and about having just finished shooting a project in Cuba (his international production  Wasp Network). So is the rest of the small cast, giving naturalistic performances in their roles. Lensed by Assayas regular DP Eric Gautier, Suspended Time is sunny and beautiful and full of wide shots of the French countryside.

In varying degrees, Assayas maintains that all his films are personal, some more than others; Early August, Late September and Something in the Air come to mind. But with Suspended Time, he really delves deep into autobiographical territory.

It is said that when he showed his brother the script for approval, Mitchka Assayas suggested that they play the roles themselves. Assayas, a fervent purveyor of preserving the life and work separation, declined the idea. But using his parent's house and narrating the film himself, the filmmaker shows much more of himself and his background to the public, in contemplation of the world in precarious times.

It's light, playful and nostalgic and features an artist being forced to pause, reflect, and ultimately enjoy life.

Suspended Time opens in New York at Film at Lincoln Center on Friday, August 15, via Music Box Films, before opening in Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities. Visit the official site for more information. 

Dustin Chang is a freelance writer. His musings and opnions on everything cinema and beyond can be found at www.dustinchang.com