In his brilliant and supremely controlled new film, director Laurence Cantet finds engrossing human drama in the story of an ordinary man whose life takes an unexpected turn. Building on the success of his last feature, the socially-conscious Human Resources, Cantet here takes a major step forward as a filmmaker.

It is the story of Vincent, a happily married man, established in both his life and his career. He has an understanding wife, a teenage son who is into tae-kwon-do, a younger daughter and a father and mother who come by for regular family dinners. As the film opens, Vincent is on a business trip, phoning home whenever he has the time to tell his wife how things are going. We soon discover, however, that in fact he has lost his job.

So begins a completely hypnotic and spellbinding narrative. As Vincent deceives his family and constructs an increasingly complex alternative existence, an eerie sense of future events begins to invade every frame. Cantet's rigorous mise-en-scène, the troubling musical score and, most importantly Aurélien Recoing's outstanding performance as a middle-aged man whose pride inflicts unforeseen consequences, delicately unsettle scene after scene and generate incredible tension. L'Emploi du temps is intelligent filmmaking at its best, humane and understanding in tone, taut and chilling in style.

Premiering in the Cinema of the Present section of the 2001 Venice Film Festival, the film was awarded the Golden Lion (Best Film) award, and is indeed a major artistic highlight of this years French Festival.

2001 France (132 min.)

Directed by Laurent Cantet
Writing Credits: Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet
Cast: Aurélien Recoing, Karine Viard, Serge Livrozet, Jean Pierre Mangeot, Monique Mangeot
Distributed by: Haut et Court.