Genre: Romantic Comedy | Coming-of-Age | Family | Adventure
A Little Romance (1979) is a charming, wistful gem about young love, the magic of adventure, and the innocence of seeing the world through a child’s eyes—told with a European fairy-tale glow and a touch of sophisticated humor that makes it feel timeless.
Directed by George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting), the film follows the tender friendship—and budding first love—between Lauren King (Diane Lane, in her luminous screen debut) and Daniel Michon (Thelonious Bernard), two bright, precocious teens living in Paris.
Lauren is an American girl, an avid reader and dreamer, the daughter of a glamorous but self-absorbed American mother (Sally Kellerman) and a busy stepfather who works in the diplomatic corps. Daniel is a clever French boy from a working-class family who’s obsessed with films, motorbikes, and mischief. They meet by chance on a movie set and quickly fall into an innocent yet intense romance that feels bigger than anything the grown-ups around them can understand.
Their sweet, secret world is soon threatened by disapproving parents and the cold practicalities of adult life. But the heart of A Little Romance lies in what they decide to do next: inspired by an old legend told to them by Julius (played with delightful mischief by Laurence Olivier), an aging pickpocket with a poetic streak, they embark on a whimsical mission to Venice. Julius tells them that if two lovers kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset while the bells of St. Mark’s ring, they will be bonded in love forever.
What follows is part road movie, part innocent heist, part European escapade. The film sweeps the young couple—and us—through the sun-dappled streets of Paris, the pastoral countryside, and the romantic canals of Venice. Along the way, Lauren and Daniel navigate language barriers, suspicious adults, and Julius’s half-true stories, all the while clinging to the fragile magic of their dream.
What makes A Little Romance so enchanting is its refusal to mock young love. It treats Lauren and Daniel’s feelings with complete sincerity, showing that the small rebellions and grand gestures of first love can feel just as monumental—and just as true—as any grown-up affair. There’s a sweetness but also a bittersweet undertone: the film understands that this kind of romance can’t last forever, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
Diane Lane is radiant, poised yet believable as a 13-year-old girl on the cusp of womanhood, while Thelonious Bernard’s Daniel is all youthful bravado and tender awkwardness. Laurence Olivier brings a twinkle of old-world magic as the charming rogue who becomes their unlikely guardian and co-conspirator. His Julius is part mentor, part trickster—a reminder that sometimes adults remember what it feels like to believe in impossible dreams.
Visually, the film is warm and inviting, with lovely shots of Paris streets and Venetian canals that heighten its storybook feel. Georges Delerue’s Oscar-winning score weaves in gentle waltzes and a touch of European romance, lifting every scene with a nostalgic sigh.
A Little Romance might feel like a lighter relic of its era, but its gentle humor, belief in the power of dreams, and respect for youthful innocence give it a timeless charm. It’s a movie that makes you believe, for a brief shining moment, that with enough courage—and maybe a little help from a mischievous old man—two kids can defy the world, chase a legend, and keep their first kiss alive forever under the golden sun of Venice.
Tender, funny, and quietly magical, A Little Romance is exactly that—a sweet, fleeting love story that stays with you like a favorite memory of your own first adventure.
