4/5 Enjoyable
  by Eolake (Lancashire, United Kingdom)
I don't know what all the negative reviews were about, I found the film very enjoyable. Sweet and funny, well acted and filmed.

1/5 A lesson what not to do in making a film
  by R. Steinhardt (Berkeley, CA United States)
Sometimes an excellent example of the bad is as useful as the opposite. Almost every aspect of this film was badly done. The basic idea could be OK, a recluse turned off by disappointments is found and brought back to life by a young naive kid who is open to everything and curious. This film shows how each aspect of production can be screwed up. The plot is unreal, untrue in every way to life and silly. Each step is telegraphed to the viewer as if they were a five year old with ADD. Dialogue is wooden and so expected that boredom is the result. By the way, Arab girls do not wander around by themselves and pick up young men. The production design person seemed to have a fascination for really bad wigs. Burt emotes from under a long gray mop. The super villian looks downright funny in his bright yellow obvious wig, and so on. The young version of Burt is so repulsive no one could possibly believe a young girl could kiss such a creature. He is supposed to be a "hippy" ( cliche version) and has another amazingly bad wig that looks like sea weed has been nailed to the top of his head. There is a wet tee shirt scene that is so obviously put in to grab the attention of teen age males, it is so out of place and put in by such a phony device that you wonder how could any director such as this live with themselves. There are two arty camera shots, both cliches, spot them if you can...I enjoyed this film and will treasure it, no matter how inexperienced you are , you can do better than this. The one truely happy moment for Burt is when he is cutting up a very bad book of poetry his character wrote. I'm sure he was thinking about the script or maybe the director.

2/5 Not so good
  by
Film doesn't make you care about the characters. Old hippy in Amsterdam? Spoiled, immature brat finding herself? Feh.

Julie Christie was okay, but Burt Reynolds was indifferent and "Carmen Chaplin" was an absolute disgrace. A talentless person playing a shallow and silly character. Quite a combination. And if that's not enough, in spite of what the other characters in the movie say, Droopy ain't much to look at, either.

Rent if you must and be thankful it's only 90 minutes.

4/5 Warmth & Exotica
  by Mark A. Knight (ST. PETERSBURG, FL United States)
I have always loved Julie Christie, and have been cold towards Burt Reynolds. His white trash-stud-with-sense-of-humor has never appealed to me. But he has done a wonderful job of aging with dignity, at least on film. This latest DVD confirms that he makes a great character actor, who still exudes sex appeal. Christie...well, she is just as luminous as when she walked down the black and white English streets of Billy Liar. And her acting has reached a point that compares favorably with Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, and Garbo. She has aged with dignity, and honesty. I can't imagine Jane Fonda or Faye Dunaway showing their growth lines in close-up with such unconcern. A true Beauty never grows old, she matures and shines brighter.

5/5 sentimental
  by sleepy_bn
Every character in this movie was true and real, although the plot was a little off.

This movie involved an old bookseller in Amsterdam who couldn't forget the images of his old flame from some 20 years ago. A young girl who was searching for herself and ended up in Amsterdam, and the girl's mother.

The tale was quite simple and effective. I particularly enjoyed the view of Amsterdam in a fog, the streets in the night, the boats on the river and the crowds. The old bookstore looks very much like the old bookstores I visited before. Carmen Chaplin was very charming, she is the granddaughter of the great Charles Chaplin.

After viewing the movie, I felt warm and sentimental. If you believe in true love, happenstance and serendipity, then this is the movie for you.