Love at Second Sight (2019) User Reviews

Two love stories for the price of one

[FrenchEddieFelson · 8/10 · 7 April 2019]

The trio François Civil, Joséphine Japy, Benjamin Lavernhe is a total success! The movie is both funny and moving. It's very good! A must see, in family or with your other half. And if (s)he is not yet your other half, but you are working on it, this movie is definitely a great choice!

In a synthetic way, without unduly spoiling the script: Raphaël and Olivia fall in love at first sight, then Raphaël becomes a successful writer while Olivia follows a professional career neither here nor there, until... a Twilight Zone effect! ... Raphaël lands in another space-time in which he is a simple fellow, a John Doe while Olivia is a well-known pianist, and she does not know him anymore, at all. Ooooops ! One unique goal: to lure her back again, and fall in love ... at second sight.

Honest use of the cliché still yields a good result

[rplatini · 7/10 · 27 May 2020]

First of all it is important to say that the translation of this film is a crime, "Mon Inconnue" which means "Meu Estranho" came to be called that, it is incredible how the Brazilian distribution insist on "breaking" the films with these horrible titles. That said ...

"Amor À Segunda Vista" is a French production written and directed by Hugo Gélin and it is a romantic comedy. It is a film that presents a somewhat familiar plot, but that surprises with some choices. As much as you kill in the beginning what will need to be done in the end, and the title does not help, the way the plot gets there is what makes it interesting. Many conventions in this type of script are present, but the solutions sought are simple and play in favor of the plot. The script uses the characteristics of the characters to create the "link" in the story, the incident created leads to an outcome and only in the third act does it reveal that it is none of that. The use of the cliché without wanting to be silly or disposable is one of the highlights of the film, after all, it is a love film and love has many clichés, the difference is in the way it will be used. The tone of the jokes is "ok" and the mixture of classic and contemporary mixes well the evidence of pop culture and the historic charm of European buildings.

Another highlight is the cast, which has a good harmony and stands out for the protagonist couple; Joséphine Japy and François Civil are good actors and have already established themselves in French cinema. Music is another positive point, the ever-present piano gives the film a subtlety that suits the viewer (the ears too). Despite having a good presentation and running away from the common end, the director gets lost in the execution and bets on "normal" to conclude his film and sign the couple, some characters come and go and others are dated in the genre, which reduced the excitement at the end.

"Amor À Segunda Vista" is a good option in times of scarcity in romantic comedies, which has a good history and has Parisian beauty in its favor. The film is available on the "looke" platform and free of charge at the Varilux Film Festival. Good session!

Pleasant romantic comedy

[johnpierrepatrick · 7/10 · 28 March 2020]

A nice and fresh romance comedy, in her French ways - which is a good change from the standard Hollywood one!

Two Hours Well Spent

[mjfhhh · 6/10 · 25 March 2020]

Raphael has everything a man needs for a happy life - a successful writing career, plenty of fans and a devoted wife Olivia. He doesn't seem to understand the sacrifices Olivia has made to help him build his career, putting aside her own ambition... until one day Raphael wakes up in a world where he is a humble school teacher and Olivia is a world famous concert pianist. More than this - she doesn't even know who Raphael is. Will they be able to reunite? And at what cost?

The "What if" premise is the signature style of a French romantic comedy. LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT, however, examines an interesting dilemma - does one of the spouses always have to sacrifice his or her own ambition for the other to succeed? And can the cycle be broken?

Apart from this interesting premise the film doesn't have much in store. Action does not propel the protagonists' relationship forward and there's a lack of quirky hilarious and engaging situations that make romantic comedy really work.

Both Francois Civil and Josephine Japy look great in front of the camera but lack chemistry. They work better as best friends than future lovers. They are also too beautiful to be believable as an average couple.

LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT is something you have seen many times before, and there's little to praise beyond its high concept premise. As a piece of entertainment, however, it works rather well and never feels dull. If you love romantic comedies with a twist it may be two hours well spent.

This film touched a very deep chord of my heart

[rdraj91 · 10/10 · 19 July 2021]

As I'm writing this review, my eyes are wet and my heart is numb. We don't often get to see a movie that touches your soul and makes you wonder the things you take for granted and what actually matters at the end. A beautifully written film with equally beautiful performance and direction. If you ever feel low or happy too just watch this film.

Charming, French and sweet

[Mlle_Chouette · 10/10 · 1 October 2019]

It has everything a perfect rom-com needs and it workd for it. Yes, there are clishes, and the plot is not sooo original, but it's captivating, believeable and pretty good. The actors are good-looking and the chemistry is fine. And it has Paris background as a bonus.

If you're in need of a light romance movie for an evening then this one is just what you need!

This movie represents the best of good French cinema.

[Film-Nation · 10/10 · 9 September 2019]

A real good movie goes beyond budget, special effects, sex and all those "musts" in the HOLLYWOOD formula. A good movie is the one that it's own idea is sufficiently original and strong to live by itself. The script is Everything. If it is natural, "believable", (doesn't matter if it's fiction) and touches spectators hearts, is enough to be a success. That's all about good French cinema. Like this beautiful movie that honors too the main goal of this industry: to entertain and to conquer peoples hearts.

Uhh, I guess I'm thinking too much

[GulceGencer · 5/10 · 25 February 2022]

Well I've loved the movie throughout, but I def. Hated it at the end. I've read that there was an intention of the screenwriters' to create the agony between career, family, romance etc. And to show the indetermination of choosing one since we can't have them all; but I'm still not satisfied with the finale. Because Raffael left the heart-broken Olivia in their own dimension\universe by taking away the novel from the #2 Olivia and not letting her finish the story. So he couldn't turn back to his world to fix his relationship with his wife and let her down! Instead when the #2 Olivia came and kissed him after the concert he was okay with having the other Olivia but not his actual wife, and decided that it was easier to be with a woman who is already in love with him and not pissed at him. Not to mention that Felix never got to have his real bff back because Raffael didn't go back. This means Raffael didn't love his wife, but he loves and could love any Olivia. My man didn't pass the vibe check, this ain't real love bro.

Loving without controlling

[jharilela · 10/10 · 26 November 2019]

The movie was an absolute masterpiece. The story, peotry, plot, character progression, personalities, acting was breathtaking. I would recommend that movie day and night. The character development and delinquency shift was just wholesome. Followed by the progression of love and ego abandonment.The ending was phenomenal and real credits go to the scriptwriter and director for executing it flawlessly.

Cute French romcom

[mick118 · 8/10 · 6 January 2021]

Cute, funny and somewhat touching. Good cast and good acting. A great and entertaining movie in the romcom genre.

Worth every Goddam second!!!

[airinwongso · 10/10 · 11 March 2022]

It's amazing! The acting. The storyline. The plot. Even the place! It's amazing! Worth it! And they are relatable! Like every couple when they are to focus on their work rather than try to balance them or couple when one is trying to hard and the other just barely there. But! Everything change and they tried their best to get them back to show them that their worth it! It's amazing!

Surprisingly Stupid

[abbeydrane · 3/10 · 11 May 2019]

I would like to prepare you...it's an easy watch. Nothing we haven't seen before, Cliché. It could have been something deeper, but they went for a simple, convenient plot instead. The characters are stale and 2 dimensional. I swear these other reviewers are being paid to write their critics or people's standards are incredibly low. Even to learn French, I wouldn't recommend this movie because the don't speak very clearly. I laughed twice because there were two good jokes. Go watch Raising Arizona instead.

One big yawn

[hans_de_smedt · 3/10 · 28 February 2023]

If this movie would've aired today I would've suspected it to have been written with Chat GPT. It's just a sum of cliches mixed with some mediocre acting and bad jokes.

Watching this movie is like eating a 1 eur lasagne. It feels like its industrially produced, no quality ingredients have been used and you'll forget you ever consumed it already the next day.

The only positives I could detect were the snow allegory, a very beautiful main actress and a tiny plottwist at the end.

The people who gave it a 10 must have been paid or on a romantic high. This feels like a total waste of time for both viewers, actors and producers. A pity.