As the follow up to Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, this high-concept compilation employs much the same formula as its predecessor, with eight internationally acclaimed directors (Bernardo Bertolucci, Mike Figgis, Istv谩n Szab贸, Jir铆 Menzel, Claire Denis, Volker Schl枚ndorff, Michael Radford, Jean-Luc Godard) meditating on the passing of time.
While The Trumpet was blessed with three segments that were worth the price of admission alone, the quality of these eight shorts is distinctly more miss than hit. Kicking off with Bernardo Bertolucci's Histoire D'Eaux, about an Indian immigrant in Italy, the compilation then disappears into its own navel with Mike Figgis' quad split-screen drama About Time 2 that blends digital technology with Samuel Beckett, before levelling out with Istv谩n Szab贸's allegorical Ten Minutes After, about a domestic row that ends in murder. Michael Radford's rather predictable sci-fi instalment Addicted To The Stars is about an astronaut returning to Earth.
"PHILSOPHICAL"
Somewhat surprisingly, the best segments are those that are explicitly philosophical. Volker Schl枚ndorff's musing on the nature of time - The Enlightenment - told from a fly's point of view is intriguing, while Vers Nancy, Claire Denis' simple discussion between real-life philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy and one of his students on the nature of Otherness, is effortlessly effective if rather off-topic.
Undeniably the weightiest contributions are those that deal with cinema itself. Czech filmmaker Jir铆 Menzel delivers an innovative segment in One Moment, condensing the life of Czech movie star Rudolf Hrus铆nksk媒 into a matter of minutes and using clips from his movies to chart his transformation from handsome youth to ageing actor.
Finally, in Jean-Luc Godard's Dans Le Noir Du Temps we're taken on a trip through cinema, time and the image as the legendary director uses archival footage and iconic moments from his own movies to prove that he's still one of the finest living filmmakers in the world.
It all makes for a patchy and only occasionally brilliant showcase.
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2003)
