Colours of Time – 124 minutes

A comedic drama romance, Colours of Time is intriguing tale about the past and how it can help inform the future.

A developer is expanding a shopping centre and a countryside home in Normandy –abandoned for decades and suspended in time – stands in the way.

A meeting is called of 30 ancestors of the family that owned the property, which was shuttered in 1944 and hasn’t been visited since.

Four are chosen as representatives to survey the estate and help determine its fate.

From the photos on the walls, a striking Impressionist painting and a series of handwritten letters, they discover a rich heritage.

The film counterpoints the present with the past and gives rise to the story of an ancestor named Adele.

When the grandmother who raised Adele in Normandy passes away, the then 21-year-old leaves for Paris to try to find her mother, who left when she was only one.

On the boat on her way to the City of Love, she meets two young men, one, a painter and the other, a photographer.

Upon arrival in Paris, she does, indeed, track down her mother, but is shocked at where she finds her.

Thereafter, her life becomes entwined with that of the painter, the photographer and her mother.

Before this is over, she will also discover her father and, perhaps, that will be biggest surprise of all.

As the movie moves back and forth between 2025 and 1895, we also learn more about the four family representatives in the present day who develop a connection.

Co-writer and director Cedric Klapisch has crafted a rich crowd pleaser.

I found Colours of Time quite an exciting watch because I was hanging out to find out how the various threads depicted would come together.

There is charm, grace and humour about the performances, which are easy to warm to.

In fact, I wouldn’t have minded delving into the characters either further, as I was eager to know more about them.

Given the time restraints and the number of characters involved that simply wasn’t possible.

One of the other key strengths of the movie is the production design, which readily contrasts Paris of yesteryear with the bustling city today.

I also appreciated the focus on painting and photography, two of the great art forms.

So, I would eagerly commend Colours of Time, as I exited the cinema with a feeling of warmth.

It scores a 7½ out of 10.

It is on as part of the French Film Festival, which runs around Australia, including regional centres, into April.

For more details, go to https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org