Val Chipzik (Audrey Tautou) is a young girl who dreams to be an actress. all alone in a strange city, she finds out it’s not so easy, but never gives up hope. she slides out of a construction site tube straight to noisy New York, and on her way she goes. one strange encounter with Jack (Justin Theroux) changes things for Val. Jack is a lonely writer all dried up and lost in failure of love and divorce. inspired by Val, he decides to write a script based on her character and leads her to an Oscar winning destiny.

“nowhere to go but up…” is the strongest line in the film, and also a second title. i love Audrey Tautou is this one. the role she plays as Val fits her perfectly as she is tiny and sweet herself. back in those days, i would have imagined Audrey Hepburn as Val. another charming Audrey took over this time. they remind me of each other a little. Val’s character reminds me of Pierrot the clown. a sad little thing who is longing to be loved by someone, and makes everybody else smile. i won’t be surprised if that who the director, Amos Kollek, based the character on. in the film Val meets a bunch of weird characters who are also on the hunt after their dreams. one specifically got my attention and is played by one of my favorite actresses, Jennifer Tilly. Edna is a somewhat fan of both men and women, she takes Val under her wing, offering to be her manager. sorry, couldn’t find pictures of her from the film…

this film, in my eyes, is an authentic romance between two people lost in their dreams. a true fairy tale coming true in the big busy city. where no one has time for anything or anyone anymore…