Admittedly, the viewer will have to persevere a bit with "The Colors of Time". As is often the case with French films, it starts off very slowly, and at times even sluggishly. You first get to know the characters and experience their everyday lives. It's a bit slow in the present, but much more exciting in the parallel narrative set in the 19th century.
You experience a lot about everyday life in that bygone era. It's beautiful in the countryside and very fascinating in Paris. Tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower and the first electrified road are minor details, and everyday life is what's fascinating. What's it like living in this world as an ordinary person seeing their mother for the first time? Especially in an unexpected environment? What's it like to suddenly meet famous artists like Sarah Bernhardt or Claude Monet in a bar or garden?
As tangible as these personalities are in the film, so too is the Impressionism emerging in Paris at that moment. One witnesses the emergence of a significant era from everyday moments like a sunrise or a view of a garden. This is simultaneously poignant and normal. Thus, one can easily connect great art with one's own everyday life and emerge from this film inspired.
This is also ensured by a thrilling key scene that actively and directly links the present with the present. From this moment on, the art of the past is also in the present and changes the lives of the characters in our time. They are transformed and radiate like Impressionist paintings. "The Colors of Time" is a film that offers us a new and very vivid perspective on Impressionism. Highly recommended and definitely worth seeing in the original French.
