Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A simply delightful little film about two young kids who fall in love and the adult accomplice (Laurence Olivier) who helps them with their plan to get away from the other overbearing adults in their lives and seal their love with a kiss under a certain bridge in Venice.I think what really makes "A Little Romance" something special is the strain of melancholy running through it. These particular young 'uns are in the full flush of love, but they're surrounded by examples of people who have had it and lost it or never had it to begin with. It gives a sense of urgency to their mission and makes it feel more important than a mere whim.The performances are uniformly excellent, though Sally Kellerman could have been directed to dial it back a little bit as the nightmare of a mother she's asked to play. The film is also overall a little long - - a good 15 minutes shaved off its running time wouldn't have been amiss. But otherwise this is a charming film.Winner of the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1979 and a nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay.Grade: A

Saw this movie for the first time on HBO in the early 80's. Went out and bought the vinyl soundtrack album (I still own it on vinyl and CD). Too bad Thelonius Bernard only did two films, he was excellent in this film, as was Diane Lane. The plot evolves as two young teens meet and fall in love. He is French (his father hates Americans), she is American , her mother thinks he is a dirty French boy, which he seems to be a little frisky, which by todays standards, is like petting, her step-father is not too judgmental, but after a few too grown up incidents at the girls 13th birthday, Lane's character is forbidden to see Thelonius' character again! Of course if you forbid a teen to not do something, they're going to sneak around. They then meet a con artist (Sir Lawrence Olivier) who tells them a few stories that add to the soon to be complex plot. Awesome directing, photography, music and acting make this such a gem. I won't say anymore but this is a favorite on DVD for me. A Must See!!!! A Very Beautiful, Romantic, Sweet Movie!

Few films command the lasting affection of A Little Romance. An indictment of the cinematic cynicism of the 1970s, here is a wonderful, often magical film awash in sentiment, but never sentimental. In spite of its title and even the story itself, its genre is somewhat ambiguous. It is, rather, an evocative survey of several: romance, melodrama, mystery, comedy, and above all, fantasy. Set in Paris, it's the story of two children (Diane Lane and Thelonious Bernard) who meet by accident at Versailles amidst the confusion and hubbub of a film shoot. One is the prodigious, mathematically savvy young son of a cab driver, while the other is the equally facile daughter of a wealthy, vivacious, and spoiled American woman (Sally Kellerman) and her new husband, an ironically compassionate corporate executive (Arthur Hill). The two kids "click", but their burgeoning love is soon compromised by a kind, well meaning, if incompetent petty thief. (Laurence Olivier) If there is a single theme upon which its endearing appeal continues to thrive, nearly thirty years after its release, it's innocence: the innocence of children, the innocence of adults who behave like children, and the surprising innocence -- naiveté, really -- of a society that would still, in the end, respect it. It's about fate, too, and how it favors and rewards innocence uncorrupted, even if it is only in the movies that such an emotional Shangrila is possible. That the filmmakers send up, with comical gentility, the film industry itself as a source of such corruption is certainly testimony to that.The legendary, fairy-tale quality that informs A Little Romance was no accident. Removed from the splendid châteaux and opulent gardens of Versailles, or the gentle slopes of rural Italy, or the pristinely elegant, aquatic antiquity of Venice, A Little Romance would have been shorn of its resonance. Director George Hill was nothing if not savvy, exploiting as he did the rich geographical and architectural environments as characters in their own right. Had this story been set in New York, for example, along with a more indulgent, self-conscious script populated exclusively with adults, it would have ended up emulating the gooey sentimentality of Love Story. The 13 year old Diane Lane's radiant debut was complimented by the no less engaging Thelonious Bernard, who has long since disappeared from film, and from public view altogether for that matter. (Word has it he is now a dentist in Nantes, famous for its opera company). Of course, neither of them had to move too far out of their own gifted skins to portray the prodigies they do here. Their abundant intelligence and wit take no time at all to succumb, in this story of real and not merely puppy love, to adolescent longings. In fact, Ms. Lane and Mr. Bernard are so convincing as to lead to speculation about their relationship off screen. That's probably unfair, though; the odds are that they, like their characters, were just two brainy, fabulous kids and consummate professionals who had mastered the craft of acting and grasped, with unerring precision, the subtext of the Allan Burns' superbly crafted screenplay.The wonderful Arthur Hill, who died just today (and whose passing inspired me to write this), exudes firm but caring authority in his role as Ms. Lane's father and the beleaguered husband of the philandering Sally Kellerman, seen here in one of her edgier, bitchier performances. Both Hill and Kellerman's thoughtful readings, deftly defined, provided the perfect counterpoint to the developing feelings explored by Ms. Lane and Mr. Bernard. But rather than glibly extolling, like two proud parents, the innocence of those feelings, both actors expose instead what spoiled cynicism and lack of faith can do to corrupt them. The miracle of this movie, its heart, if you will, is Mr. Olivier. His performance is pure confection, as delicious as the French pastry he fawns over in a café early on in the film, yet no less detailed and picaresque than the Doge Palace in Venice where he ends up. As he confessed in his autobiography, acting was, for Mr. Olivier, an artificial construct; he was no fan of the method or realism. He preferred to invent a character from the outside, like a painting, rather than cultivating it from the inside whilst tipping his hat to every possible motivation. Whatever attendant techniques he engaged to create his Julius, no matter. It is in the end a most remarkable bit of thespian virtuosity, a performance of enormous buoyancy at once playful and passionate, vulnerable and astute. Mr. Olivier is the angel of this fantasy, while Ms Lane and Mr. Bernard are the cherubs under his wing, making a perfect match and underlying metaphor for the old world paintings and frescoes to which the viewer's gaze is often drawn. The final scene -- the penultimate "adieu" you might say -- remains in memory long after the last celluloid flicker for the unmistakable authenticity of its poignant denouement. Smart turns by an eminently sober Broderick Crawford as himself, Graham Fletcher-Cooke as Daniel's randy young friend, and Jacques Maury as a deadpan, unintentionally hilarious police inspector round out one of the most charming G-rated films of the 20th century. -John Bell Young

This movie is very romantic and fantastic.Beautiful scenes ,fantastic story,great director, cute and lovely little stars, respectful and kindly-minded grandpa,graceful attitude towards love and life.It's very relax and humor,I love this french love story.Wonderful! I think it's one of the best love stories in all kinds of films.Though they are boy and girl,they are very pure and courage toward their love.Under the bridge, they eventually made their love promise and wishes.And the grandpa is very kind though he is a thief,he tried his best to help these little "pals" and made his best wish for them.I will never forget their smile,promise and experience,it's very very impressive.I suggest everybody could have chance to appreciate this great movie,you will be impressed by this pure love story--a little romance!