YNOT at the Movies

French director François Ozon has a plan to make a trilogy about grieving death. The first film of the trilogy is the brilliant "Under the Sand" (Sous le sable), about encounter the death of loved ones. I like "Under the Sand" very much. "Time to Leave" is the second film of this trilogy, about facing one's own death. And the third one is yet to be made, about the death of a child.

In "Time to Leave," a successful young gay photographer Romain is diagnosed with terminal cancer and he has very short time left to live. What to do? How is he gonna cope with his own death?

The film does a pretty good job to explore Romain's reaction to the terrible news and how it affects his relationships with his family, lovers, and even strangers. But I only mildly interested in this Romain character. Sure, he is only in his 30s, so? Even kids get cancer. Why this guy's last few months make it more interesting than any other unfortunate cancer victims? The only fascinating character is Romain's grandma, played by the wonderful Jeanne Moreau. I love the interaction between them and I wish the rest characters were written like her.

I love François Ozon's other two films "Swimming Pool" and "Under the Sand," but "Time to Leave" is a little disappointing.

My rating: 6 out of 10.