Too Early / Too Late
Inspired by a letter by Friedrich Engels and a 1974 account of two militant Marxist writers who had been imprisoned by the Nasser regime, Straub-Huillet filmed this film in France and Egypt during 1980. They reflect on Egypt’s history of peasant struggle and liberation from Western colonization, and link it to class tensions in France shortly before the Revolution of 1789, quoting texts by Engels as well as the pioneering nonfiction film Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895).
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📋 Film Details
| Original Title | Trop tôt, trop tard |
| Year | 1982 |
| Country | Egypt, France |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Director | Jean-Marie Straub |
| Runtime | 104 min. |
| Rating | TMDB: 6.5/10 (31 votes) |
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🎬 MovieFinder's Take
Straub-Huillet construct a cinematic essay that relies on the rhythm of the land and the weight of spoken text. They explore not the event, but its geological trace, using duration as a political gesture where time itself becomes the material.
What lingers after viewing is a resonant silence filled with the echo of centuries of struggle. This is a film that doesn't narrate history, but allows it to grow through the present. — MovieFinder Editorial
Director: Jean-Marie Straub
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Watch in absolute silence, during daylight, with full attention.
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