Happenstance

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06/05/2013 It's Audrey Tautou before AMELIE (2001, 9/10), from writer/director Laurent Firode, HAPPENSTANCE is adept in contriving a string of butterfly effects engendered among two dozens of people in one day until at the very end concludes with a boy-meet-girl scenario, they share the same birthday and meet earlier in the morning, then fate brings them together in its unique design, with a bruised nose. The brisk premise of a horoscopic premonition is intriguing, the pace is upbeat and the camera is restless in introducing a kaleidoscope of quirky dramatis personae into the stage one after another, bewildering sometimes, then once we get a hold of that it is an assemble piece whose mainstay is hanging on a thin theory of unwitting behavior's chain-reaction, its allure begins to dwindle, the desultory contrivance oversteps the original intention of "an accidental slice-of-life", the story is totally at the disposal of writer's wild and arbitrary imagination as long as the circle meets its end in the coda (not such a demanding request for one who is capable of imagining), which could be assessed as an artistic shortchange fails to meet the face value of a feature film, a concise short form is enough to spread this one-track mind precept. There are no clear leads inasmuch as the bulky cast, so besides Tautou and Faudel's belated encounter, other threads never have their own closures, e.g. Eric Feldman's mendacious museum guard and Eric Savin's wavering husband, neither find their answers in their respective stores. Maybe it is what happens in real life, but as an entity, the loose-ends are despondent and incompetent. Luckily, the film should be merited for its variegated caricature of human behaviors, mostly are transient due to the repetitive structure, nevertheless the film entertains audiences in its down-to-earth earnestness and leaves us a wistful sigh only if fatalism could dominate the world, life would be much easier and simpler! See more 11/14/2012 very random but reminds me of a novel that states that all people who meet are already in predetermined groups. It was pretty cute in the long run... See more 08/28/2012 So damn cute. Nothing is random in life and every action affects everything. Love it. See more 05/06/2012 Interesting, but not as good as i had hoped it would be. See more 01/01/2012 Interesting when it comes together, but it doesn't end in the flourish one could have hoped for. See more 12/09/2011 Great photography and a fun premise -- what effects a small event can result in. See more Read all reviews

Happenstance

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