It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This film was panned big time by the pros (doesn't look like it got a major release) and the users herein. I'll concede to the "haters" that they know more than me of the director, European cinema, film technique, etc. Ignorance may in fact be bliss. If you're not a film snob you may enjoy this movie too.Overcome the well-founded criticism that neither spies nor ordinary people behave like AFDIS characters. This complaint can be said of many, maybe most films. Our protagonist trio indeed appear on a field trip as opposed to espionage. Evil agent Will Pound (Turturro) is written way over-the-top. Using 9/11 as a plot tool may have been useful but indeed is somewhat insulting; e.g., someone, maybe our government had advance notice but failed to act?But suspend the above faults and you've got an engaging, well-paced, fun dialog movie that will make you smile and shudder at times. The Europe venues and scenery are done nicely. The theme of "ugly American" is treated in an interesting and thoughtful -if at times irreverent- manner. The climax (if not an astonishing twist) fits in well with the rest of the move: Let me describe the ending as fitting given the ambiguity of the underlying emotions.NOTE: Films are clearly in the eye of the beholder. One USER comment herein calls Miss Forestier fat and ugly. She is far from fat and truly beautiful.

A Cliché wrapped in an Amateur swallowed by a Poseur. ...The "laughter" of a sophisticated Binoche when a banality is uttered. ...The inexperienced director telling or allowing Reilly to play cute. ...The Reilly character not doing or saying anything in the presence of a person who plans on killing the 'father' he loves. .....Turturro embarrassing himself with the poetry bit (well, he does have a right to earn a living). .....Poor Nolte allowing himself to be photographed without heavy diffusion lenses. ....."Sincere" Nolte playing a beseeching scene with his daughter proving to the viewer that he's a sociopath. .....Clever Turturro being able to smuggle a huge cache of guns, ammo and a ton of sophisticated electronic equipment from France to Italy. .....The young girl, a geese shepherd, with a surprising knowledge of revolver and semi-automatic pistol use. .....Gee. The two kids go from her being hostile to him and then having sex. But millionaires to be, they talk about spending the rest of their lives together! ..... Also: what are we to say about the writer/director whore using 9-11 as a hook? And so on, ad-nauseum. I ask you: how does swill like this get produced?

Despite a very good cast and a clever idea, this film never happened. The acting was good but the director was self-indulgent with his filming technique.The film was slow and built no tension, and by time Nick Nolte arrived, the film had already died on its backside. The film wasted time on juvenile political discussion. I literally thought that the American boy would accuse the French girl as being a cheese eating surrender monkey, but of course they just fall in love! Every single role was unoriginal from John Turtoro's poetry reading psycho to Juliet Binoche's cool french spy. Given such an important political possibility, the film said absolutely nothing.

Quelques jours en septembre (A Few Days in September) is an intelligent, classy little film that boasts not only a unique story as written and directed by Argentinean Santiago Amigorena, but a fine cast of both seasoned and fresh young actors who capture our attention and hearts as they progress through Europe on a mission that has a lot to do (in 2001) with September's indelible imprint on the world. It is a film that contains biting humor, black humor, love interests, and bizarre sidebars that make the final moments of the movie all the more troubling.Irène Montano (Juliette Binoche) is an agent in Paris who is somehow connected to secret intelligence in making a meeting with one CIA agent Elliott (Nick Nolte) who holds top-secret information that could change the world... Irène is instructed by cellphone to look after Elliott's estranged French daughter Orlando (Sara Forestier), who loathes the father that deserted her when her mother died, and Elliot's young son David (Tom Riley) from the US who adores his father and has come to Paris to see him. Various meeting places between Irène (accompanied by Orlando and David) and Elliot are aborted until finally the three are told to travel to Venice for a definite meeting. This all takes place between September 5th and September 10th and it is soon suggested that the elusive Intelligence Service Elliott hold information that will impact the world.As the three characters progress through the streets and cafés of Paris and of Venice they are stalked by a very odd assassin William Pound (John Turturro) who divides his time among reciting poetry, in cellphone consultations with his psychiatrist, killing people and planning the assassination of Elliott. While Orlando and David are at first at odds, separated by language and by disparate feelings about their shared father, the presence of Irène joins the two in friendship and more while acting as a guide and escort through the dangers that lie constantly before them. It is not until the last few minutes of the film that we actually meet Elliott (Nolte) and in these few minutes not only are there changes that occur in the estranged relationship between Orlando and Elliot, but also rapid fire events that breathlessly lead to the moments before the shattering events of 911 in America.Cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne captures all of the allure of Paris and Venice while keeping the focus of the film intense with well-lighted spaces and camera angles. Laurent Martin has found the right mixture of music types to fit the various moods of the film - from amorous to innocent to terror. The film is in both English and French (subtitled in English) and it is refreshing for a groups of actors to move so graciously between the languages. Binoche is in peak form, creating a fascinating woman whose role is so very pivotal to the entire story. John Turturro adds another character role to his repertoire and provides most of the dark humor that peppers the film. Nolte is strong in his small role, but it is the pleasure of watching newcomers Tom Riley and Sara Forestier, so adroit at being natural, that adds to the success of the movie. While the topic of the film (911) is still difficult to assimilate, this version of how Europe was responding and the suggestion of how our own CIA had prior information make for a seamlessly exciting way of filling in some of the holes that remain to be examined. Strongly recommended on all levels. Grady Harp