I liked this movie and, interestingly, my much younger companion did not. Too meandering and so little happening, she said. And that is the quality that I found most appealing and more like real life.<br /><br />There are gentle stories here woven around the central premise of a young child's disappearance and the reaction to this event is seen as background in many of the scenes which is a technique very cleverly done.<br /><br />There is also the haunting singing of someone in an apartment in the building where all the interaction and often non-interaction of the other characters takes place. We only see this mystery singer at the end of the movie.<br /><br />Mary Louise Parker was the only harsh note. I find her performances always stilted, cold and full of a hidden tension not usually necessary to the role she is playing and again she did not disappoint. I did not know what the earthy Roberto saw in her.<br /><br />I liked very much the character of Raymond searching for the scent of love in all his ex lovers. I have a bias towards movies like these, of the Run Lola Run type. I feel they are more reflective of reality, no Hollywood quick fix endings just a slice of life beautifully acted and photographed that just stays with you a little longer than the A-B plot lines of most movies.<br /><br />8 out of 10.