Happenstance

So I tried to watch a movie twice. Both times I fell asleep. This is more a statement of my state than the movie. My fiancee Margo made it through the movie, so I asked her to review it. Without further ado, here's my first guest review :

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Happenstance.

Christopher asked me to be his premier guest reviewer. The movie he asked me to comment on is entitled, "The Beating of the Butterfly's Wings," a.k.a. "Happenstance," a.k.a. "Amelie 2," (in Hong Kong only). "Amelie 2" is the best of the three English titles because at its heart the movie is about two strangers, Irene (Audrey Tatou) and Younes (Faudel), on a train one morning, who learn from their shared horoscope that they will meet their true love that day. The film then sets out to show the viewers how "the butterfly effect" will bring the same two people together once more under the full moon.

The "butterfly" plot line seems somewhat choppy at times, but gives us a chance to see a less adorable and more watchable Tatou than in "Amelie." In addition we are treated to 19 other colorful characters. Included is Luc, (Eric Feldman), a pathological liar who draws everyone he meets into his grandiose tales, only to finally reveal his true character to a woman who cannot understand a word of French. Too bad his character did not reach the final stages of Tatou and Faudel's meeting.

Tatou and Faudel give strong performances as star-crossed lovers. If you are in the mood for a light, foreign, romantic movie "Happenstance" has the charm of a typical romantic comedy with some added surprises from the characters on the sidelines.