Rating: 
Summary: Don't trust this movie; worst U.S. cover box hack to date
Review: 'Happenstance' is an inoffensive enough little movie...a rather bland French ensemble piece of fluff about life's serendipitous twists and turns. The problem lies with the U.S. marketing approach to this movie, which is a complete hack and an affront to any moviegoer's intelligence. First - there's the marketers' blatant attempt to hitch a ride on the contrails of the Audrey Tautou/Amelie phenomenon. For example, while the cover box features nothing but a pigtailed, doe-eyed Tautou, the movie is anything but a Tautou star vehicle. Granted, she's in the first scene, but she disappears for stretches of up to 15 minutes at a time. 'Happenstance' - released in 2000 - was pre-'Amelie,' and Tautou is just part of the woodwork here. Second - and more egregious - the cover box picture of Tautou isn't even from the movie itself. It's been lifted directly from the cover box of 1999's 'Venus Beauty Institute' (check it yourself with an amazon.com search). Now, why would anyone reward behavior like this by recommending 'Happenstance' to a friend? Unbelievable.
Rating: 
Summary: If a butterfly beats its wings in Europe ....
Review: .... there will be a hurricane in the Pacific. This wonderful movie illustrates all that in a charming and captivating manner. Audrey Tatou shines as Irene, one of myriad characters in this subtitled flick about what would happen if you took this road instead of that?? Irene is a salesgirl in a household appliances store, who gets her horoscope read to her on the train to work. It turns out that the guy next to her has the same birthdate -- and both are supposed to find "love around the corner" that day. But it will take the whole day and several others whose lives meet theirs in the most casual way (the EMT whose ex-girlfriend recognizes him in a photo at the film-developing place where she works, the man cheating on his wife who decides to lie to his mistress, and so on.) The storylines are full-fleshed and it is amazing the way all the characters affect each others' lives without really knowing what they do. This is a simply great movie, very French, very fun and guaranteed to make you read your horoscopes again!
Rating: 
Summary: a not very memorable ensemble film
Review: A film by Laurent Firode There is an idea that life is made up of a serious of coincidences and that any small action can have a wide ranging effect and connection to the lives of various people in ways that we cannot even imagine. Little events can affect big events even though the two are not truly related, at least not in any way that we can directly see. It is like the butterfly in Egypt flapping its wings and causing a hurricane over the Pacific Ocean. This is the overriding idea of "Happenstance". The movie opens with Irene (Audrey Tautou) on the subway. A lady sitting across from her is reading Irene's horoscope and tells Irene that soon she will meet her soul mate. Irene gets off the train and the scene changes. From here we are brought into the lives of multiple people (men and women) living in Paris. We see their actions and how their actions affect each other. Even though Irene opens and closes this film, it is not truly about her and she is a more minor character than I had expected (or hoped). It is interesting to see how all these lives intersect and affect each other, but even with the ending wrapping things up, "Happenstance" did not feel like it truly amounted to much, or did a good enough job making me care about any of the characters (except Irene, but that may be because of Tautou). It was difficult for me to engage with any of the characters, or find any of them memorable (though some of the intersecting events I can remember, but not the characters themselves). The best I can say is that "Happenstance" was just okay. Despite Tautou being all over the cover/poster for this film, she is not the star, this is a true ensemble piece. The ensemble just didn't add up to a strong whole. -Joe Sherry
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, but still worthwhile
Review: After seeing Amelie, I had very high expectations of Happenstance. This movie does not move as fast as Amelie, but it is still fun to watch. The movie nominally centers on Irene, a salesgirl, who has a bad day. In between the viewer is presented with numerous sub-stories that affect each other and Irene. While at the beginning, it doesn't always seem to make sense, by the end of the movie, you will be trying to figure out just what is going to occur because one character "happened" to do one thing instead of another. Overall, a very good movie.
Rating:
Summary: What if
Review: Do you ever wonder how your life might have evolved had you not been stung by a bee, dropped your car keys down the street grate, and missed the Big Job Interview thirty years ago. Maybe you'd be the CEO of IBM by now instead of staring at this review before heading off to flip burgers at the corner BK. It's this cause and effect of random events that provides the storyline for the quirky HAPPENSTANCE. Audrey Tatou, the darling of AMELIE, landed her first screen role as Irene in HAPPENSTANCE. As the film opens, she's revealing her birthday to a total stranger on the Paris Metro. In return, her friendly fellow commuter reads Irene her horoscope from the newspaper and remarks that she'll find her soulmate before the day's end. Why? Because there's a full moon that evening. After Irene gets off the train, a handsome young man, who until now hasn't said a word, remarks to the news reader that he too has the same birthday. Right there the viewer can surmise the film's conclusion. Irene only seems the lead because she begins and ends the film. In between, she's one of a cast of many unremarkable characters whose lives intersect through a series of minor random events, causing them to make decisions and take actions that lead, like a Rube Goldberg apparatus, to the final denouement. And we're not talking earthshaking events either. Leaves of lettuce fall off the back of a delivery truck. A half-eaten macaroon cookie is thrown into the street. A small cockroach crawls into a woman's handbag. A pigeon drops a big one on a couple's photo album. A package is abandoned on the Metro platform. A cafe customer decides not to eat a chocolate candy. A pebble is thrown from a balcony. Algerian sand imported by an illegal immigrant blows from a window. The concept of HAPPENSTANCE is an interesting one, but, the ending being a foregone conclusion, no more profound than if I wonder what would have happened had I eaten chunky peanut butter instead of smooth back on October 17, 1964. And fans of Tautou's AMELIE may be disappointed in her Irene character, who's not only very ordinary, but sometimes cranky and rude (just like the rest of us). While not eliciting an "Oh, wow!" from this viewer, HAPPENSTANCE is a respectably clever, gentle, well-acted, and deftly choreographed film that deserves to be rented for a quiet evening of contemplative, home viewing. And Audrey has those enormous, brown eyes that could melt linoleum!
Rating:
Summary: cover goof
Review: Does it not bother anyone else that the cover photo they used for the American release of "Happenstance" is a photo of Audrey Tautou from the film "Venus Beaute (Institut)"??? Clearly the distributor/packager just wanted to slap a pic of Audrey Tautou on there and they didn't care which movie it was from! Why didn't they just use a pic from "Amelie" while they were at it? That said, this is a charming film, and Audrey shares the limelight with a host of other french actors. Generically speaking, this is the French equivalent of "Next Stop Wonderland" or "Sliding Doors." As I'm a huge fan of both of those movies, I enjoyed "Happenstance" a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but probably not for everyone
Review: Happenstance captures a sort of simplicity of life in a rather carefree fashion, or so it'll have you believe. The editing is extremely well-executed. It's so flawless you almost believe the film to be over-rated. While I'm certain most will feel the story is too fairy-tale-ish and cornball to like, I felt the narrative and driving force worked well enough. The transition and timeline are well-planned. And the tiny bits of emotion and despair that occur at times are heart-wrenching. Those who hated Amelie, won't like this very much either. IT's very french. And it's a beautiful story for me. simple but makes an impact, like a silent explosion. i'd recommend it w/ the full knowledge that some will really hate it. :)
Rating: 
Summary: So French, So poorly done
Review: How often have the French played with this idea of lives with no degrees of separation, random choices creating monumental impacts, and destiny culled out of simple moments? So many times, you would think they could avoid doing it haphazardly. Too many storylines, too few clear characters, too many loose ends. And in the end, I was so ready for this movie to be over that I couldn't have cared less whether the young lovers wound up together. To be certain, some of the moments are compelling, but not enough to add up to a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent movie
Review: I did enjoy this movie very much. Audrey tautou is a pleasure to watch.this movie has so many plot twists but easy to follow. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A brain-filler, but a glorious movie nonetheless...
Review: I got this movie ready to compare it to Amelie starring the same actress, Audrey Tautou. I loved the concept of the movie, how every simple gesture contributes the the working order of the world and the stance in which things happen (hence the title, Happenstance). The way things happened and when I thought about it made me grin, but I must admit that the characters, even the main character, weren't very likable at all. However, this might hint the concept of karma, or perhaps sybolizing the utter imperfection of the world. In conclusion, I really loved this movie simply because it just clicked together so perfectly and that it makes you think. People who don't like to think, don't buy this movie, but for those who like to look at things a little closer, yes, do buy this movie. My only complaint: it's hard to keep track of what happens because of all the zooming around between so many long storylines.
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