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63
11th Hour, The
47
27 Dresses
29
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
39
Alvin and the Chipmunks
81
Bamako
84
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
47
Bella
68
Business of Being Born, The
69
Charlie Wilson's War
64
Cloverfield
30
Cover
68
Delirious
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
43
Final Season, The
41
First Sunday
51
Golden Compass, The
49
Good Night, The
65
Great Debaters, The
63
Hannah Takes the Stairs
52
Hollywood Dreams
7
Hottie and the Nottie, The
60
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
15
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
81
Juno
70
Lars and the Real Girl
47
Lions for Lambs
41
Mad Money
71
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
xx
Moondance Alexander
53
Music Within
77
Nanking
44
Nina's Heavenly Delights
24
One Missed Call
74
Orphanage, The
30
Over Her Dead Body
39
P.S. I Love You
37
P2
46
Reservation Road
55
Resurrecting the Champ
57
Romulus, My Father
85
Savages, The
78
Starting Out in the Evening
83
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
57
Teeth
92
There Will Be Blood
38
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
32
Untraceable
63
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
68
War Dance
71
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, The
43
Youth Without Youth
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
92
There Will Be Blood
85
Savages, The
84
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
83
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
81
Juno
81
Bamako
78
Starting Out in the Evening
77
Nanking
74
Orphanage, The
71
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, The
71
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
70
Lars and the Real Girl
69
Charlie Wilson's War
68
Business of Being Born, The
68
Delirious
68
War Dance
65
Great Debaters, The
64
Cloverfield
63
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
63
11th Hour, The
63
Hannah Takes the Stairs
60
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
57
Romulus, My Father
57
Teeth
55
Resurrecting the Champ
53
Music Within
52
Hollywood Dreams
51
Golden Compass, The
49
Good Night, The
47
Bella
47
Lions for Lambs
47
27 Dresses
46
Reservation Road
44
Nina's Heavenly Delights
43
Youth Without Youth
43
Final Season, The
41
Mad Money
41
First Sunday
39
Alvin and the Chipmunks
39
P.S. I Love You
38
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
37
P2
32
Untraceable
30
Over Her Dead Body
30
Cover
29
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
24
One Missed Call
15
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
7
Hottie and the Nottie, The
xx
Moondance Alexander
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Happenstance
Lot 47 Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for a scene of nudity
Starring
Audrey Tautou,
Faudel,
Eric Savin,
Irène Ismaïloff,
Eric Feldman,
and
Lysiane Meis
A cleverly constructed and intricate comedy about how a subtle twist of fate can affect the lives of total strangers, Happenstance ingeniously tracks a group of seemingly unconnected individuals during the course of one long day. (Lot 47 Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Laurent Firode
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Laurent Firode
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: April 23, 2002
Video: April 23, 2002
Theatrical: November 2, 2001
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
97 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
France |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
French (with English subtitles) |
Original French title "Le Battement D'ailes du Papillon," which translates as "The Beating of Butterfly Wings"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
Stars Audrey Tautou, gaminelike, waiflike, vivid and completely adorable.

80
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Utterly delightful fable of romantic destiny.

80
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
It brims with the charm, wisdom and light touch that have endeared French films to international audiences for more than a century. It doesn't hurt that its star is "Amelie's" Audrey Tautou.

80
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Perhaps it's all a bit too much, and perhaps it doesn't add up, but the loose ends give the picture a jaunty, improvised feeling that, while it leads to some confusion, is ultimately part of its whimsical charm.

75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
The movie is funny, but it's also touching and poetic -- and Bertin's scenes are devastating.

75
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
In Happenstance, fortune doesn't just smile -- it schemes and tricks and zigzags, forming an urban road map of fate's detours.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Happenstance represents an intriguing meditation on the unseen forces that no one can escape.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Mild but engaging romance.

70
Film Threat
Michael Dequina
There's no doubt that sheer mechanism propels Happenstance, but the numerous characters and storylines flow and converge in a gracefully unpredictable and witty manner.

63
Boston Globe
Leighton Klein
It has every mark of inspiration by imitation.
63
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
That is not an original idea, for sure. But the ensemble cast -- especially Tatou as a 24-year-old store clerk named Irene -- is personable and the Parisian ambiance is catching.

60
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Being French, the film at least has indelible details -- something a Hollywood remake would fix but good.

60
LA Weekly
Paul Malcolm
Fate plays both prankster and deliverer in Firode's never-too-clever scheme, buoyed, like his often-winsome images, by romantic fancy.

50
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
As slight as it is sweet.

50
Chicago Reader
Hank Sartin
Like several recent films, Happenstance draws on chaos theory as an inspiration, musing on the slim difference between random chance and fate and trotting out the old chestnut about the flapping of butterfly wings causing a tsunami.

50
Miami Herald
Marta Barber
Ultimately feels like tiny films glued together by events that often test plausibility. The idea wears thin soon, and some of the characters and their tales get lost in the unstoppable domino chain.
50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The movie has magical moments, but it's too contrived to gather much comic or dramatic power.

40
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
A clever idea that never stretches beyond just that -- a caterpillar that never blooms into a butterfly.

40
New Times (L.A.)
Jean Oppenheimer
Viewers expecting another enchanting, whimsical tale of high energy and mischievous spirits will be sorely disappointed.

40
TV Guide
Steve Simels
Episodic, pretentious, and more than a little silly.

25
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
Tautou seems tired, mean-spirited and utterly devoid of that Audrey Hepburn-like charm that made her the international movie find of 2001.


The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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