A Little Romance (1979)

Sadly Over-hyped

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

nice, touching, small picture of a meeting fruits, map for transformation of fiction in reality, it is, not exactly for its ages, ball of memories. its fragile beauty, its seductive locations, presence - as perfume drop - of Sir Laurence Olivier, the subject , all is good occasion to remember slices of past.like each not bad film, it is a fairy-tale. same rules, same characters, same end. only miracles are little different. but it is not a problem. because all is at perfect place.and pieces from Paris, Verona and Venice are tasty food for soul, like hot chocolate in a winter evening for body. music, performance, dialogs - innocent secrets in a musical box.enjoy it !

Lauren (Diane Lane) is the daughter of an American woman (Sally Kellerman) now married to her third husband (Arthur Hill) and showing far too much interest in a self-important film director (David Dukes). One day Lauren is taken to see the shooting of a scene in the director's latest opus, with Broderick Crawford as one of the stars. She finds more interest in a book (an introduction to Martin Heidegger's philosophy) than the filmed scene (an attempted assassination). But she meets Daniel, a French boy who was taking a school trip to the châteaux the film was being shot. He is a movie fan, a bright boy who has worked out an almost flawless system to win horse races, and as bright on the subject of Heidegger as Lauren is.* The kids click, and a small romance develops. They also meet an elderly gentleman (Lord Laurence Olivier) who tells them of how Elizabeth and Robert Browning sealed their love by sailing in a gondola in Venice under the Bridge of Sighs at sundown while the bells of St. Marco are chiming. Lauren likes that story very much.Due to Daniel defending Lauren's honor at her birthday party (he punches the drunken film director for making a stupid insinuation) he is made persona non grata to his girlfriend. Daniel and Lauren meet secretly and plan to flee to Venice to put the Browning legend to their own use. They get assistance from the elderly gentleman, and soon manage to raise the necessary funds to flee. But they are caught in only a few days of possible freedom for this. Part of the reason is that their funds disappear too quickly. Also Lauren 1) fails to mention she and her parents are returning to America in two weeks, and 2) she forgets to ask a friend to cover for her. The funds soon are replenished, but Daniel begins to have suspicions about the elderly old gentleman.A LITTLE ROMANCE came out in 1979, and with THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL represents the last two good movies that Laurence Olivier appeared in. He would be in a few other films and give a variety of appearances (most notably as General Douglas MacArthur in INCHON) but these films were below quality in most standards. A cameo in WAGNER starring Richard Burton was in a good film, but Olivier was in support in that film. The reason really was age and health - Olivier could do film and television, but on a limited basis (BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, LOST EMPIRES). In comparison Alec Guiness was doing far more work in the 1980s of any interest. But A LITTLE ROMANCE was a charming comedy romance dealing with two kids coming of age, and aided by a kindly old rogue. It was an easy role (except for the French accent, which to be truthful comes and goes a little). But his age is apparent here too. As the old gentleman is in his 70s it was not a big problem for Olivier to show that age. Still he looks frail here (as he did in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL), and his frailty is covered in another way - he is supposed to be running in several scenes, but they are shot in distant shots (with an obvious younger double). But his deliver of his lines is still first rate, and he manages to make his rogue lovable and believable to the end.So does the rest of the cast. The two young teenagers are lovable, and believable because they are bright (and vulnerable: Lane is upset by Kellerman's romance with Dukes, which she knows bothers Hill; Daniel is aware that his father is a barely legitimate taxi driver (who cheats his fares). Kellerman (usually a free spirit in her films) shows a bigoted edge towards Frenchmen, and a hypocrisy towards her daughter's coming of age versus her own sexuality promiscuity. Hill turns out to be bright and caring (similar to Tom Bosley in THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT) - finally rousing himself to confront his rival when the time comes. When A LITTLE ROMANCE came out in 1979 I saw it in a first run theater. Now I have seen it again on DVD. It has not aged badly at all. *Martin Heidegger's reputation in 20th Century Philosophy has been established, but it is tarnished by his being a supporter of National Socialism in Germany under Hitler. Still apparently it has been a major support in French philosophy studies until fairly recently. Interestingly enough Lauren is initially more favorably impressed by Heidegger than Daniel is (he has plowed through Heidegger's mentor's works).

"A Little Romance" has become one of my favorite movies of all time. It's both innocent yet sophisticated, well-paced, impeccably cast, and has a beautiful, bittersweet finale. Best of all, it shows us the sweeping, guileless way kids first experience love before puberty and thoughts of sex get in the way. "A Little Romance" tells the story of such a love between two 13-year-olds: French boy Daniel, (Thelonius Bernard), an impish, quick-witted movie lover; and Lauren (Diane Lane), a prim, well-read American. They meet cute when Daniel tells Lauren to "call me Bogey", and then has to explain to non-movie buff Lauren about the famous romance between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. But they do have plenty else in common: they both have genius IQs, read philosophy for fun, and love math. It doesn't take them long to realize that they've found in each other a kindred spirit. One day, they have a chance encounter with the charismatic Julius (Laurence Olivier), an elderly, carefree dandy who enchants them with stories, poetry. and of an old Italian legend: if two lovers kiss under Venice's Bridge of Sighs at sunset when the church bells toll, their love will last forever. When Lauren discovers that her family is moving back to America, she becomes determined to run away to Venice with Daniel to make the legend come true and seal their fate of eternal love. Despite being terribly fanciful, "A Little Romance" touches on so many levels that people of all ages can relate to: the innocent joy of young love, the willingness to do anything to make that love last, and questions about destiny and eternity. Yet it never becomes too heady and you're just swept away in this lush tale. Diane Lane, a mere 13 in her film debut, already showed her trademark talent, poise, and beauty. Thelonius Bernard never acted before or since "A Little Romance", but he's incredibly charming as a young rogue. Laurence Olivier is predictably good as Julius, a smooth talker who isn't all he says, but at the same time isn't as bad as he seems. This is a superbly made cult classic directed by George Roy Hill (notice the shameless self promotion, as the movies Daniel watches include "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), and the perfect film to watch with your own true love.

A period of fifteen years separates two little-known films directed by George Roy Hill that deal with somewhat similar themes but with very different results. Each movie concerns the trials and tribulations of two teenagers, marital infidelity involving one of their parents and the influence of a highly eccentric adult on the lives of the children."The World of Henry Orient" (1964) shows Hill at his best. The young teenage girls are spunky, fun and interesting. The unfaithful mother of one of them is cold, calculating and a thoroughly disagreeable type. And the eccentric adult (in a wildly over the top performance by Peter Sellers as a wacky concert pianist) adds to the comic potential of the plot by trying his best to distance himself from the playfully stalking "groupie" girls. The film is a unique comedy, and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Even in its most serious moments, it doesn't drag or take itself too seriously."A Little Romance" (1979) reveals Hill in a lesser light. Here the teenagers are presented as Romeo and Juliet wannabees----and while Diane Lane shines in her first film role-----her unpleasant French "Romeo" does much more than his share of excessive pouting and posturing. Lane's unfaithful mother is as unlikable as her predecessor in the earlier film. But here the eccentric adult (in another over the top performance---this time by an aged and hammy Laurence Olivier as a sort of Friar Laurence to the teenage Romeo and Juliet characters) makes the story much too maudlin and treacly by deeply involving himself in the young lovers' plight. Instead of looking for the comic potential of this story, Hill tries to make it a pure romance. The problem is that the teenagers are just unformed clay and not up to the romantic situation Hill places them in. The film takes itself very seriously, and accordingly seems out of balance at times.By 1979, Hill was apparently becoming inattentive to details and pacing. There are characters introduced into the story that add little to it (except for the wasted time they consume on the screen). And how can we explain a French movie house screening an American film with dubbed French spoken accompanied by English subtitles? Wouldn't it have made more sense for the English-speaking audience watching "A Little Romance" to see the American film with English spoken and French subtitles? Bottom line on "A Little Romance." See it to appreciate a very young Diane Lane at the beginning of her highly successful film career in a role that demonstrates why things turned out as they did for her. As for Hill, he did much better work in comedy than romance.