Deja Vu

Writing in VL Online-12/99, K. Lee Benson said: "This haunting, unabashedly old-fashioned love story marks a further, more accessible departure for fiercely independent Hollywood maverick Henry Jaglom, director of such love-them-or-hate-them confessional and obsessive films as Always (which starred himself and his ex-wife and dramatized their divorce), Eating and Babyfever. This rapturous ode to love-at-first-sight stars Jaglom's real-life wife Victoria Foyt (who also co-wrote the script) as Dana. At a cafe in Israel, she meets an elderly woman who spins a tale of lost love and then mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind a precious pin. Although Dana tries to find her, she finds Sean (Stephen Dillane), a painter, instead, and while there's an instant connection between them, she is engaged (albeit grudgingly) and he is married. True to its title, destiny and fate (and the coincidence-laden script) later conspire to bring these soulmates together." Given the fact that this is a 1998 film, the DVD transfer is fine and the Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack crisp and clear. Extras include a very lively commentary track on low-budget improvisational filmmaking by Jaglom and Foyt, and a four-minute "making of." Recommended. (R. Pitman)