Avis des critiques

That conceit is key to the open eroticism of On a Magical Night, which contrasts with Hollywood’s current asexual immorality. This heterosexual story shows Honoré acceding to moral tradition — to ethical argument, not fashionable politics about gender. Chiara Mastroianni, combing aspects of her parents Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, makes an uncanny embodiment of that complex effort.

Despite the fantastic premise and the ostensibly comedic bits of business Honoré strews throughout (pay attention to the changing marquee of the cinema on the street where both Maria’s apartment and the hotel are), the movie’s treatment of its themes still too often lists toward a near-ponderous solemnity.

It’s not hard to imagine what an American version of this would look like: lots of characters yelling and slamming doors, way too much time spent setting up the whole magic hotel thing. On A Magical Night is thankfully free of any internal logic.

Honoré deposits all his chips on the comedic premise at the expense of character study and gravitas. The result is a little like a gimmick masquerading as plot.