Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of the few movies on IMDb that I just couldn't finish watching--it was THAT bad. And, this is another example of a movie with reasonably decent IMDb reviews that seems way out of proportion. Even if it's not as bad as I think, it's hard to imagine it being a great film, that's for sure. But, once again I might just be an old crank. Read along and you be the judge.This movie was directed by Louis Malle--a very well-respected director, to say the least. However, this film just doesn't show the talents that would be so evident in films like AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS. This film just looks lousy by modern standards of film making--not especially professional or polished. This is because so much in the film is telegraphed and painfully slapstick. And, at times, the camera and music speed up to let us know "it's time to laugh"--like what you might expect in a high school pageant when someone is doing a lame Charlie Chaplin impersonation. Then, when you combine this very broad humor(?) with a foul-mouthed little brat, you have the ingredients of a thoroughly unappealing,...nay, annoying film. Stupid and unfunny slapstick and an annoying brat--it's like watching a 90 minute migraine! This movie, like the French love of Jerry Lewis, is something I just don't get.

I will not waste your time by elaborating on the qualities of this original and witty film. Others have already done that, and everyone can see for themselves. But for all the cinematographic brilliance, I have to admit to a little (well, a bit more than that actually) vexation about the little Zazie's whims. Frankly, I find her a conceited, spoilt, little loudmouth, and this substantially diminished my pleasure watching the film. Her behaviour is unbearable even by today's standards, but extraordinary by those of 1960. Looked from that angle, 'Zazie dans le métro' is not only a brilliantly crafted film, but also a prophetic and emblematic one. In the second half of the 20th century, the child became the focal point of attention (in the western world at least), and this film shows this as few others.

I saw "Zazie" in Paris in 1962, and my French at that time was rudimentary. Nevertheless, for sheer manic energy, wonderful visual comedy, and performances that transcended the language barrier, I loved it. I've seen it since and still love it. Among its other virtues for me, this film introduced me to the marvelous actor Philippe Noiret. Malle proved to be a director with virtually unlimited range with respect to style and mood. Consider some of his other fine films: "Lacombe, Lucien," "Atlantic City," "Murmur of the Heart," and "My Dinner with Andre," to name only a few. I guess what Richard Lester did with the Beatles might be close to this when it comes to sheer antic charm, but I think "Zazie"still stands alone. Unless you have zero tolerance for whimsy and insist on Deep Meaning in your movies, I think that you're likely to enjoy this one...if you can find it.

A product of the French New Wave, this movie is more than 40 years old, but it still has the powers to make you leave your mouth open, either to laugh or just to be in awe. Extremely different from anything you can find on the screens today, "Zazie" is able to entertain you even without a coherent plot or a bunch of lines that make sense. A dark-short-haired witty little girl goes around an extremely colorful Paris meeting unusual and funny people. Does this remind you of anything? Actually "Zazie" had already gone beyond the borders of the land that would be explored by "Amelie" 40 years later. Maybe this means that the future is behind our backs? It is time to turn around.