Sexylocher Masterful Movie

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Urantia My initial expectations of disappointment never fully came to fruition since this movie turned out to be better than some reviews suggested. In fact, my inclination to skip this one after the first few scenes quickly fizzled into an enjoyable excursion of dramatic intrigue. Even though this film delved deeply into how some people place their reliance about their mortal futures in the hands of either some ancient superstition (astrology) or on the outcome of some random occurrence dictated either by the arbitrary whims of chance or by the predetermined will of fate, I tended to focus more upon another theme that to me was just as prevalent and less controversial. What I am referring to here is the philosophical view as to how all of our lives are interconnected in ways we cannot quite fathom and might never fully comprehend...how no person can escape the benefits or the penalties that may come as a result of relationship to other persons. I will not give any specific examples from the movie since the journey it offers the viewer is one that involves slowly unfolding the connectedness of seemingly unconnected people and events. If I connected the dots about connectedness for you, where would be the fun (for you) in that? So I guess you could say that this movie validated some of my philosophical views: I believe that there is an organic unity in the universes of time and space which seems to underlie the whole fabric of cosmic events, inexplicably manifested ever and anon by what appears to be an amazingly fortuitous co-ordination of apparently unrelated universe happenings. I am also inclined to believe that it is this far-flung and generally unrecognizable control of the co-ordination and interassociation of all phases and forms of universe activity that causes such a variegated and apparently hopelessly confused medley of physical, mental, moral and spiritual phenomena so unerringly to work out to the glory of God and for the good of men and women and angels...but not always for the good of a bug (in this case, one who had a walk-on role but whose agent forgot to include a tiny clause in his contract that specified enabling this creepy-cute character-actor to walk off the set in the same healthy condition he was in when he crawled forth onto it to shoot his final scene...and to make matters worse, no listing in the opening credits, no "IN MEMORY OF" dedication at the end and worst of all, no favorable recognition from the Academy for opting to do all his own stunts).

jotix100 This whimsical film had the misfortune of being released at the same time of the highly popular "Amelie", both having the wonderful Audrey Tautou playing the central role. Laurent Firode, the talented director made one of the most enjoyable films that have come out of France in recent memory.The film deals with chance, as its English title indicates. The French title makes reference at how butterflies wings can create chaos over the Atlantic as they fly, as well as hurricanes in the Pacific, something not to be believed just by looking at these colorful insects. From the start, the director interlaces all the characters one sees in the film and how each has a connection to the other, something that is hard to imagine, but in the film's context seems to work well.A chance meeting at the metro sets the tone for the film. Irene, who is going to work, is asked by the woman sitting opposite her to tell her what her Zodiac sign is and proceeds to read from her paper. Irene, it seems will cross paths and will find her soul mate that same day. After Irene leaves the train, the quiet young man seated next to the woman tells her he has the same birth date as Irene. It seems they are destined to one another from the start, but alas, they will not reconnect until the last frame of the film.Audrey Tautou is wonderful as Irene. Faudel, who plays Younes, doesn't have a lot to do until the end, but he shows he has a presence and plays well his part. The talented young cast makes a valuable contribution to the success of the film, which is as light as butterfly wings.We look forward to future films by Laurent Firode because he appears to be a director with the heart in the right place and an ear to the way humans are connected.

ncarmadilloman The first time I saw this film I wasn't entirely overwhelmed, but I did like it well enough to watch it again almost immediately. Thank goodness for that, because I've probably seen it four times now and each time I seem to see what translates to an almost entirely different movie. From numerous observations, my single most unexpected discovery is the fact that, along with the primary cast members, every single secondary character interacts in a minimum of two of the multiple, and seemingly unrelated, situations that are taking place.In terms of a film with a story line that's nearly impossible to absorb in one sitting, I compare this to the 1985 flick "After Hours", which was directed by Martin Scorsese and is still one of my all time favorite comedies. Don't misunderstand though, while "Happenstance" is successfully comedic, romantic and dramatic, its primary function is based on the uncharacteristic cinematic element of coincidence. Oddly enough, on an initial basis, coincidence may be its most difficult trait to fully distinguish.Hats off to those of you who were able too fully grasp the entire scope of intricate relationships and interconnecting roles of these characters in only one viewing session. However, if you've only seen it once I tend to believe that, like my first impression, you simply aren't aware of the degree to which they exist.This may explain, at least in part, some of the commentary I've read that sum this up as a pretentious version of a poor man's "Amélie", (not the first of actress Audrey Tautou's more recent works to be accused of this). First of all, I'm still not exactly sure how to define the term pretentious in relation to a movie. Secondly, while subtle similarities do exist between these two films, they are far exceeded by their differences. Unfortunately, comparisons to her role as Amélie may be an unfair curse that haunts Tautou until she's completely successful in making a distinctive mark in other areas, as she began to do in the 2002 film "Dirty Pretty Things".In my opinion, this is an all around success for writer & director, Laurent Firode's. The script is filled with creative energy and his directorial effort was enhanced greatly by a superb cast. Just remember, it's a very rewarding experience when you, yourself, learn to make an educated hypothesis to determine the movies that you're most likely to enjoy. From there, it's up to you to decide, without relying on the feedback and criticism of others, whether or not you really liked it.

Thom Do you know about the Butterfly Effect? Sure you do. Jeff Goldblum explained it in Jurassic Park: "A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park you get rain instead of sunshine." As one might guess from the title itself, Happenstance is all about randomness and chance. It details how the tiniest of events can lead to a particular outcome--in this case, the uniting of two soulmates.Happenstance adheres strictly to its philosophy, perhaps to a fault. The film skips from person to person in what is quite a large ensemble cast, itemizing how each of them contributes to the system. Due to the intricacies of details involved, in order to bring the audience to the "main" characters' resolution, it fails to follow up on supporting players, many of whom shared as much screen time as the leads. As a result, audiences might be left with more questions than what answers the ending provides. This might be solved by extending the length of the film to follow the other characters, but Happenstance borders on sluggishness at 90 minutes. Still, because of the film's constant reverence to its notions of chance and fate, it leaves us with a sense of faith that "happenstance" will come to everyone in their own turn.With such a large cast, it's surprising that there seem to be no weak links among them.We get to see a different side of Audrey Tautou's spectrum than the naive, wide-eyed dreamer we're familiar with... Here, she's a bit cynical, certainly a realist, and at times, rather self-centered. Her eyes and head hang a little low, and the pixie we watched in Amélie practically disappears. As with He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, this film is not a great challenge to her acting abilities, but she provides a simple role with solid performance.The same can be said with all the cast, though it's a bit challenging to match actors' names with the characters' faces. They each play his or her role evenly, with a unique and distinguishable set of strengths and weaknesses.Such characterization was obviously well thought out by Laurent Firode, who wrote and directed Happenstance. He does a magnificent job at characterization, and one wonders how great he might do with a film focused on two or three main characters. His visual style, while not overpowering, also contributes greatly to the presentation of detail in the film.Don't rent this expecting Audrey Tautou in every scene, but if you wish to sample some more of her acting, or if you're just interested in an intelligent foreign film, Happenstance should leave you happy.