Happenstance
Audrey Tautou (star ofAmélie) shimmers like a born movie star inHappenstance. A woman on the morning train tells Tautou that the full moon will lead her to her soulmate; from there,Happenstancefollows a marvelous interlocking series of events, in which little things (like whether or not a young museum guard eats a piece of chocolate) affect bigger ones (like whether or not an adulterous husband will tell his wife the truth). The numerous characters intersect with each other's lives, creating a web of coincidences that finally catches Tautou like a hapless fly. This could have been cloying and forced, but the writing and directing are so deft and subtle that the coincidences ofHappenstancefeel natural and compelling. A sweet and hopeful movie, with excellent performance all around, but Tautou's wide-open eyes leap out of her every scene, hypnotic and charming.--Bret Fetzer