Although he is not looked upon as an auteur,Gaspard Noé displayed in his best movies his obsession with time :his towering achievement , "La Cavalcade Des Heures " (a small overlooked masterpiece)depicted man's helpless race against time;moreover,in "Une Mort Sans Importance",Death turned the hero down and demanded a member of his family instead.
Six Petites Filles En Blanc (1943)already shows the fear of getting old and of realizing that life has passed you by .A boss' employees celebrates his fiftieth birthday ,and that leads the man who got on in life to call his destiny into question ;working overtime,and never having some rest in a peaceful place ,is that that makes living worthwhile?The best sequence shows the wealthy man meeting three old me on this way,then children reading "Felix the cat" comics :between ,a clock,which predates what will be fully developed in "Cavalcade Des Heures "
The story of the greybeard and a girl in white (check the title) is not as dramatical and is quite derivative;but when he finally comes back to his wife ,he tells he does not regret an impossible union with a girl who could be his daughter ,but that he is fifty and that he can't turn back the clock.
To drive the point home,the final song goes on repeating " when we are the same age ,life is wonderful"
