Reviews

Like everyone else who has written in, I watched this film (and Happenstance) because I had seen Amelie and had fallen in love with Tautou and was hoping to relive the Amelie experience. This movie is as close as I have come, but of course, NOT Amelie. The fun parts of this movie were: learning about the Jewish faith through the eyes of a non-Jew, hoping that Tautou and Baer really do end up together, and I must mention all of Tautou's awesome outfits and hairstyles as a French "top model." Very fun! The movie a few interesting cinematic moments from a style standpoint, too. I felt that I got confused about the plot at points due to the back-and-forth cut sequences and thought maybe I missed something in translation? Or maybe it was just weak storytelling? Or maybe Americans like me just need to be led by the nose through the plot a little more? The great surprise for me was Edouard Baer. He is handsome, charming, gentle, and caring in his role of Francois, and I immediately fell in love with him myself. The movie nicely balances comedy and seriousness and has sat well with me in the days after watching it. As long as you're not expecting Amelie: The Prequel, I think you can watch this and enjoy the fun and beauty Tautou brings to the screen.

Very talented cast, with Kieran Caulkan putting in a brilliant performance as Igby. Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon also put in atypical performances which I am very enthusiastic about. Interesting insights into both the lives of New York's upper crust and the seedier sides of the performance art community are a bit stereotyped (drag queens, unsuccessful dancers, supposedly-genius "performance artists")show a nice contrast of the varying sides of the same city. It may not ring true for New Yorkers (is every down-and-out person really a drug dealer?), but everyone else will think it's educational! Wonderful contrasts between class levels, with emphasis various paths to finding life purpose. It really is a coming of age tale, but not as sappy or predictable as some I've seen. I was pleasantly surprised.

This wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but it was pretty awful, and I would only recommend watching it expecting the worst so that perhaps you are pleasantly surprised by it. My least favorite thing was the main female character, Lucia, and her self-obsessed, insensitive, manipulative, passive-aggressive way of behaving. She was a terrible person and also looked much older than her supposed 32 years of age! It was difficult to understand the motivations or behaviors of most of the characters and the scenes/events seemed rather disconnected. I also was hoping for a lot more of the Bollywood movie industry and got very little of that except for the opening scenes. I'm not a fan of this movie.