PREMIERE.COM'S MOVIE REVIEW (posted 7/13/06)

Changing Times marks the sixth onscreen collaboration between two of world cinema's most recognizable faces: Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu. Their presence alone will be enough to tempt many movie buffs into the theater and the actors don't disappoint, even if the movie does. As ex-lovers encountering each other for the first time many years after their relationship ended, Depardieu and Deneuve have an easy rapport that speaks volumes about their characters' shared history. Director André Téchiné clearly realizes how lucky he is to have these two pros as his central couple, because he doesn't burden them with lots of unnecessary expository dialogue. They can communicate more in a glance than many younger actors could in a two-page monologue.

Here's what we are told: Cécile (Deneuve) and Antoine (Depardieu) were once an item, but their romance fizzled and she left France for Tangiers, where she married younger man and had a son. Unlike his former flame, Antoine never moved on and, in fact, he's still deeply in love with her. So when the opportunity arises to travel to Tangiers on business, he eagerly volunteers for the assignment. Unfortunately for him, Cécile isn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of having to get re-acquainted with her old boyfriend, especially since her marriage seems to be falling apart and her now-grown son Sami (Malik Zidi) has just turned up on her doorstep with his girlfriend Nadia (Lubna Azabal) in tow. In other words, Antoine's visit couldn't come at a more awkward time. He doesn't make the situation any easier when he calmly informs Cécile that he intends to win her back, even if he has to resort to using local love spells to do so.

As long as the focus remains on Antoine and Cécile, Changing Times is an involving drama about love lost and, possibly, regained. The problem is that the movie is burdened by several other, far-less compelling subplots that compete for our attention. Perhaps the most underwritten of these involves Nadia's attempts to reunite with her estranged sister, who still lives with their pious Muslim family. We also learn that Sami isn't exactly the person he appears to be—he may live with Nadia, but his heart really belongs to a local boy named Bilal (Nadem Rachati). While these plot threads do broaden the film's scope, presenting a larger portrait of modern-day Tangiers, they don't lead anywhere interesting on a narrative level. The fact is, we're mainly there to see Depardieu and Deneuve work their magic. For art-house crowds, a movie with these two is the equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
—Ethan Alter