Snapshots (2002)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Snapshots is a New World meets Old World, young meets old, past meets present love story with a fine use of coincidence, a great flavor of Amsterdam, and some terrific moments by Reynolds and Chaplin.The flashback scenes of younger love (apparently done by a second crew) are nearly unwatchable...editors might have saved them as quick, patchy dream-like sequences, but let them run in all of their silliness. Without a fast-forward button, they ruin the film. USA scenes are almost as bad with a corny TV flair and evidently no budget for cinema-like setups--the only good thing to say is that they show how much better an actress Chaplin is than the production around her.Watch it for the Amsterdam parts, which are lovely, well-acted, and even funny.

For those that are long time Burt Reynolds fans, this movie is unique. For the first time in many years, Burt was forced to act instead of being a sexy model who could spew lines on cue. Sadly, Burt doesn't portray a aging hippie really well. It isn't the acting that is so bad. it is the writing. Scene changes at the very beginning of the movie confuses, then brush off. It takes until almost the middle of the movie to fully understand what is going on. The underlying story of a young girl finding herself works out eventually. But that too takes forever. All of the actors and actresses do a wonderful job in their parts. Horrible writing kills their acting jobs though. A touching story once you forget about the worthlessness of it all.

Just caught this film on cable. It's always nice to see Julie Christie no matter how strange the casting. It is odd to see her playing a Moroccan woman but she can actually pull it off. Carmen Chaplin is delightful as the young artist but I felt that Burt was out his element. He's just not believable as an old hippie in Amsterdam-even smoking a joint. The story is a little too cliche--coming of age, reunited old loves, even flirting with "older man falls for sweet young thing who may be his daughter", but still something holds my interest.The atmosphere is warm, the city of Amsterdam is very appealing, the shots on board the boat are great. A sweet, sentimental tale worth the time to view.

A nice tale of redemption and love...Burt plays a hermit-like bookseller and former poet who still carries wounds from a past love affair. Oddly enough, his old flame's daughter (out 'discovering' her purpose in life, much like Burt's character did in flashbacks) stumbles onto his shop...and he falls in love again, not realizing his interest in her is because she reminds him of her mother...Julie Christie is an odd casting as his old love, as you're left wondering what this very British lady is doing playing a Moroccan woman--but, then you look at Burt and can't help seeing "The Bandit" in his sixties, old, broken and alone...so it's a wash.A beautiful, subtle little movie. Burt makes you think of how some of his past characters might have aged, and still creates a new character in this haunted old man who has retreated from life, yet is still full of life.