Why Celeste is out to get Ana is never really clear, but it hardly matters because Celestial Clockwork is much more interested in using the classic Cinderella story--a good girl trying to achieve her dreams in the face of unfair adversity--to explore Paris' international community in all its quirky glory. Filmmaker Fina Torres, a Venezuelan, took her original screenplay to other writers in Paris so that the resulting script is a collaborative effort, and the film itself is a French, Venezuelan, Belgian and Spanish co-production. Torres uses both sound and visuals to her advantage, mixing opera, pop and salsa for the soundtrack and employing unusual special effects that make parts of the celluloid look like it's been treated with day-glow paint. The pretentious postmodern videos that the character Celeste makes are particularly vacuous, inventive and entertaining.

But Celestial Clockwork, as its name implies, also explores more existential topics like fate and chance. Naturally, the audience knows that our heroine Ana will achieve her dreams, but, in the meantime, the movie has a lot of fun throwing devilish tricks and turns into the story. The unseen world, be it astrology, voodoo or psychoanalysis, is heavily at the forefront--Ana receives advice from various practitioners of these arts until it seems there are many different kinds of "fate" that can all be changed at a moment's notice. As Ana's mentor Alcanie, the French psychoanalyst, reminds herself (just before she swallows one of the witch doctor's love potions), "Every discipline has its own icons," and none claim authority when it comes to absolute truth.

Celestial Clockwork doesn't dwell too long on philosophic matters, though--it's much too busy having fun. There are many hilarious scenes, like when Alcanie gives Ana a love potion or the music teacher Grigorieff screams that Italians shouldn't write opera. The acting in this low-budget production is particularly good; there's not one lackluster performance in the bunch. And while the film is no doubt a comedy, it takes its jokes from current and relevant social issues--immigration problems, gay visibility and the struggle to make a living doing what you love. It also shows the joyous side of culture clash, mixing up nationalities, languages and sensibilities into an engaging and interesting film experience. Celestial Clockwork is funny and simple (but never simplistic), with a satisfying edge of urban savvy and sophistication.