Correio Sentimental

Well, it might not be at all a love story. It's really a story about a baker in a small village unable to read or write, who is convinced by his friends to respond to a personal add in a magazine in order to meet a woman and to marry her. It's best than the plot suggests and it has a good direction. The interest remains in the baker's character and the enigma of what their friend are really writing in the letters. It's only 58 minutes long, so it's also an easy to see movie.

A running time of only 58 minutes makes this fragile comedy of non-communication something more than a short subject but something less than a feature, putting the film in an awkward, unprogrammable position befitting its unique (if appropriately ovoid) perspective of social manners. To benefit most from its charming naiveté viewers must first adjust to the tentative rhythms of its protagonist: a simple, illiterate Dutch baker more comfortable balancing Zen-like piles of pebbles than going through the motions of carrying a conversation. Nothing much happens to him during the film, even after his buddies respond on his behalf to a personals ad, and the lonely recipient arrives in town one day with three pieces of luggage and unrealistic romantic expectations. Writer director Daniel Daniel's sense of humor is so quiet it may pass unnoticed, but the exaggerated geometrical compositions and odd, deliberate pacing recall the best (and likewise modest) comedies of Jacques Tati. Take note of the introductory titles, inserted every so often into the story, often for no apparent reason.

Imagine trying to get an egg to stand up without help. That will take some time.

This is the pace of this extraordinarily slow and thoughtful romantic film.

I watched this many years ago and alas have not been able to find it since.

Life in the country bakery versus life in the city - meets 'shop around the corner' = thoroughly enjoyable with a patient eye.

Good acting, a likable cast, a solid though slow story line all bring to fruition an ultimately satisfying experience.

Give this film a chance if you get the chance