Another raft of art house film-makers get the chance to ruminate on the meaning of time in Nicolas McClintock's pet project.

As you might expect, given the diverse styles of the film-makers, there is plenty of variety and it's interesting to see film-makers working to the strictures of a short.

However, many of the offerings are ill-focussed, lacking discipline not to mention substance. And some are just French.

Il Postino director Michael Radford takes the most straightforward approach in his tale of a spaceman meeting his aged son after time-travelling 80 years.

On the other hand, Claire Denis' contribution rather patronisingly features a train-bound French philosopher discussing the notion of a foreigner as an intruder.

Bernardo Bertolucci puts together a witty tale of an asylum seeker deserting a village elder...only to realise he's left him behind after he's been married and had a child.

The beauty of this project is that there's something for everyone...but it also means you'll have to sit through some pretty turgid stuff along the way.

For example, Mike Figgis employs the split-screen technique he used in Timecode to no great effect in his underwhelming contribution About Time 2.

A curate's egg, then, for those who find they have time on their hands.

Tim Evans