After Midnight

An enchanting romantic comedy between two lost souls in the most unexpected of places.

A movie that longs for a return to a cinema that, rather than marketing, merchandise and corporate synergy, is about the mysteries that flicker to life after the lights go down.

Can be quite amusing and enjoyable to watch.

A must for movie buffs, but too much of the charm resides in the clips and exhibits and those unaffected by the nostalgia will find the romantic triangle a touch too contrived.

As a story, it never develops beyond the routine. Still, the aesthetic philosophizing works as a framework for daring visual experiments.

Rich in lovingly assembled silent-film clips, as well as in intimate views of the magnificent Mole, this impassioned yet somewhat too precious fable from writer-director Davide Ferrario feels calculated to make a cineaste swoon, and yet . . . it never quite does.

So taken with its own love of cinema, it forgets to lead you down the necessary dramaturgical path to make you fall in love, too.