Le Battement d'Ailes du Papillon (Happenstance) (The Beating of the Butterfly's Wings) (2000)
-
64% of critics liked it
(36 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(6,941 ratings)
After a series of short films, writer/director Laurent Firode made his feature-length debut with this tale of coincidence, chance, and fate inspired by a variation of the chaos theory, which supposes that if a butterfly beats its wings in one part of the world, it could theoretically cause a… More After a series of short films, writer/director Laurent Firode made his feature-length debut with this tale of coincidence, chance, and fate inspired by a variation of the chaos theory, which supposes that if a butterfly beats its wings in one part of the world, it could theoretically cause a full-fledged storm thousands of miles away. Firode applies this theory to a disparate group of Parisians, opening with a young retail worker, Irene (Audrey Tautou), reading her horoscope on the train to work one morning. At the store, Irene has to deal with an elderly woman (Francoise Bertin) who wants to return a broken coffeemaker; as if that weren't enough, the dissatisfied octogenarian consumer has to put up with her impudent grandson, Luc (Eric Feldman). Amidst all the seemingly unrelated human activities in the film, cockroaches, bird droppings, and changes in the weather all conspire to bring the characters together -- or drive them apart, as the case may be. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Directed By
- Laurent Firode
- Written By
- Laurent Firode
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Dec 31, 2000 Wide
- On DVD
- May 21, 2002
- Studio
- Lot 47 Films
Critic Reviews
-
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Discreet, delicate and humane: a sweet butterfly of a movie that beats up a cinematic windstorm of life.
-
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
A mild but engaging romance, the charms of which come at you sideways.
-
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
It strives mightily to convince us that the Chaos Theory rules us, yet everything in it feels preordained.
-
Ray Conlogue, Globe and Mail
The idea, after all, is that people don't have free will, and who wants to watch puppets, however adorable?
-
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Each little action, as we see, causes something bigger to happen, resulting in not exactly a tidal wave, but a happy sense of cinematic pleasure.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Audrey Tautou
as Irene
-
Faudel
as Youness
-
Eric Savin
as Richard
-
Françoise Bertin
as Luc's Grandmother
-
Irène Ismaïloff
as Stephanie
-
Félicité Wouassi
as Security Guard
- Frederic Bouraly
- Manuela Gourary
- Nathalie Besançon
- Lily Boulogne
- Sylvie Herbert
- Franck Bussi
- Firmine Richard
- Eric Feldman
- Lysiane Meis
