France, at the beginning of World War II. A young maths teacher of considerable talent has been developing some daring theories on the nature of time. Now a humble soldier defending his country against the German invaders, he happens to meet the older physics professor he was corresponding with. The physics professor has been working VERY hard, to the point of inventing the actual means for time travel...
The main interest, here, is the beautifully constructed plot. As a small group of people travel through time, they can see and perform great marvels. However, they also begin to change the present, often in unpredictable or undesirable ways. After a while, they spend much of their time rushing around in past, present and future in order to rectify their mistakes or adjust their aims. All of which rather raises the question of whether tampering with the laws of the universe - perhaps even the laws of God ? - may be such a good idea...
Still on the positive side : "Le voyageur imprudent" also boasts a few inspired jokes and flights of fancy. Lovers of French opera will be sure to enjoy a performance of "Faust" going strangely and weirdly wrong : Mephisto appears in all his scarlet glory, yes, but he's not the only demon figure to appear...
However, there was something about the acting I didn't like. I can't name it precisely but there was something wrong here - some flatness, disinterest or superficiality. The special effects could have been better too. At one point in the movie, there's a scene where two men travel deep into the future and discover a Paris devastated by war : the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, for instance, have been ruined beyond any hope of recovery. It should have been a chilling, harrowing sight - faith, beauty and fame ground into the dust - but it all felt mediocre, like the background for a high school play. The implied warning about Mankind's self-destructive tendencies rather got lost.
I hesitated between a six and a seven star rating, but what the heck, let's support the French entertainment industry...
Viewers who like the genre may want to watch "Le voyageur des siècles", an earlier French miniseries in black-and-white. I for one thought "Le voyageur des siècles" the more enjoyable creation.
The main interest, here, is the beautifully constructed plot. As a small group of people travel through time, they can see and perform great marvels. However, they also begin to change the present, often in unpredictable or undesirable ways. After a while, they spend much of their time rushing around in past, present and future in order to rectify their mistakes or adjust their aims. All of which rather raises the question of whether tampering with the laws of the universe - perhaps even the laws of God ? - may be such a good idea...
Still on the positive side : "Le voyageur imprudent" also boasts a few inspired jokes and flights of fancy. Lovers of French opera will be sure to enjoy a performance of "Faust" going strangely and weirdly wrong : Mephisto appears in all his scarlet glory, yes, but he's not the only demon figure to appear...
However, there was something about the acting I didn't like. I can't name it precisely but there was something wrong here - some flatness, disinterest or superficiality. The special effects could have been better too. At one point in the movie, there's a scene where two men travel deep into the future and discover a Paris devastated by war : the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, for instance, have been ruined beyond any hope of recovery. It should have been a chilling, harrowing sight - faith, beauty and fame ground into the dust - but it all felt mediocre, like the background for a high school play. The implied warning about Mankind's self-destructive tendencies rather got lost.
I hesitated between a six and a seven star rating, but what the heck, let's support the French entertainment industry...
Viewers who like the genre may want to watch "Le voyageur des siècles", an earlier French miniseries in black-and-white. I for one thought "Le voyageur des siècles" the more enjoyable creation.