Snapshots - Bilder der Erinnerung

Burt reynolds, julie christie, carmen chaplin (charlie chaplin's granddaughter). Larry runs a bookstore in amsterdam, but a businessman is very eager to buy up his shop, as well as the other shops on the street. When he meets a strong willed young lady from america, he reminisces about meeting another young girl here, years ago. Lots of flashbacks, but it's well done, and fortunately, it's easy to tell when we are in those flashsbacks, which not everyone can master. It's a fun tale. Nothing tricky or real new, but it's a pleasant journey. And who doesn't have fun in amsterdam? Directed by rudolf vandenBerg. Has won numerous film fest awards for his films.

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.

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.

Award-winning Dutch filmmaker Rudolf van den Berg almost manages to pull off this unlikely romantic drama, if not against all odds, then at least against quite a few. First of all, Burt Reynolds plays an ageing hippie. Reynolds was probably further from the hippie culture than most Americans his age in the '60s and '70s. Second of all, Julie Christie plays a Moroccan woman. That's borderline preposterous. And on top of that, young Carmen Chaplin (Charlie's granddaughter), who was in her mid-20s here, becomes some sort of love interest for old Burt. Admittedly, he was still handsome and charming. So it's somewhat surprising that it's actually the scenes between these two characters, Larry and Aïsha, which carry the film and give the unlikely plot the necessary weight and warmth. Van den Berg's work is simultaneously sensitive and corny, clever and flawed. I cannot decide whether the film could have been much better, or if it actually turned out as well as it possibly could. But as usual, Reynolds gets ample opportunity to demonstrate his wonderful comedic timing and line delivery.

What a nice, quiet little movie. Rented it last night, on the quest for something non-blockbuster-ish. The atmosphere and subtly-felt performances were so nicely executed that it made up for the unlikeliness of the key plot points. Wonderful shots of Amsterdam, too.