Here we have an excellent example of a sweet film that takes a simple idea – man and woman meet at an airport during flight delays and have mistakes and chemistry bring them together – and gradually adds real DEPTH to the story and its characters through lots of dialogue. It ends up a cute little film that feels very real on every level.<br /><br />While there is a distinct lack of action and even events in the film, Décalage Horaire succeeds in holding your interest at all times through other means – it is one of those very talkative romantic comedies (Like Before Sunrise) with both insight and humour in its dialogue. You can't help but smile at times. Two of the biggest French actors, Jean Reno and Juliet Binoche, are fantastically dynamic as the lead roles and their chemistry feels real and appropriate.<br /><br />Although Décalage Horaire is definitely quirky, it is not desperately quirky (Amélie) except maybe when it comes to Reno's character Félix who, quite frankly, seems to be a genuinely disturbed obsessive compulsive. Even though Binoche is supposed to be his polar opposite in the film, she, too, is pretty off-beat but likable. <br /><br />To be fair, this film is hardly landmark in either Reno's or Binoche's careers, nor does it leave a very lasting impression, and it is increasingly fluffy toward the end. Yet for a romantic comedy, it sure is a sweet ode to love. 8/10