AllMovie

Time Lost and Time Remembered is a softly beautiful, hauntingly poetic little film, a fragile piece of filmmaking that in other hands could come off as either unbearably precious or pretentious. Fortunately, Time is shepherded by Desmond Davis, who handles the material with just the right degree of sensitivity. Some will find the story too simple or too obvious, and they will have a point: the bare bones of the story will surprise no one. But with a film such as Time, success is all in the telling, not in what is being told, and here it succeeds spectacularly. Part of this is due to the decision to employ extensive flashbacks and skips in time, which does add to the film's impact. But a greater portion of the success is based upon Davis' keen and obvious affection for and connection to the story, and the setting and the characters; Time is given life from Davis' own breath. He is helped immeasurably, however, by the lovely Sarah Miles, who inhabits the leading role with tremendous skill, grace, and presence. There are some technical glitches in Time Lost and Time Remembered, especially when trying to pass off day-for-night shooting as occurring during actual nighttime filming, but these are easily forgiven.