It is a performances centric movie

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

. . . as the 16-year-old title orphan patches together a wounded warrior's shattered psyche despite having less than half of ANNIE's emotional maturity. At least "Lili" starts out totally naive to the ways of the world, as her late watchmaker dad apparently home-schooled her (not very well) in some sort of bunker throughout WWII, and for seven years afterward. When Lili arrives penniless and friendless in an essentially random French town, she's nearly raped in her first five minutes off the bus. Following some circus people much like a stray dog, Lili turns out to be sort of an idiot savant at discussing her most private emotions with four puppets to entertain small crowds. She's hopelessly in love with the show's fair-haired magician, while never being able to remember that the dreaded "Angry Man" who voices the quartet of beloved puppet confidantes is totally manipulating her nightly public therapy sessions. It turns out that Angry Man has fallen head-over-heels for Lili, and is bitterly jealous of the magician. A former star dancer crippled in WWII, the war has split Angry Man into multiple personalities. It's Lili's task to solve his really complicated puzzle. See how she does.

I had never seen this film before. I just ran across it on TCM. It's a fairy tale of a little musical and only 81 minutes at that. Leslie Caron plays a 16-year-old orphan (she is 22 at the time) that finds herself abandoned and alone in a small French provincial town, so naturally she joins the carnival that just happens to be passing through it. I know this sounds corny, but told in the pretext of a fantasy, it works perfectly. Simple yet effective sets. She has a "crush" on the magician, never suspecting than he is secretly married to his gorgeous assistant, played very well by Zsa Zsa Gabor. She becomes entranced by the puppets and become part of their act, singing "Hi Lili", a wonderful song that won an Oscar. Two fantasy dance sequences including the finale where all the puppets come to life as she runs away. This sequence intentionally will remind you of "We're Off to See the Wizard". The slight amount of "sexual awakening" will be lost on any young girls who watch this as only a fairy tale. Wonderful in its simplicity and simply charming. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Lili except Caron. Only available as a basic WB "Archive" DVD-R, which will play on most current players.

Leslie Caron is so sweet and vulnerable here. That seemed to have been a trademark for the star who earned an Oscar nomination here.An orphaned waif who is stranded in a town she was sent to soon finds her way to a carnival. There she meets Jean Pierre Aumont, the magician who is secretly married to Zsa Zsa Gabor. In her brief appearance, Gabor is as cunning as ever.There is also puppeteer Mel Ferrer, a dancer whose career ended with an injury he sustained during the war. At first, Lili ignores him and he expresses his true desire for her through the puppets.I will say that the ending dance sequence was memorable, but the film itself is routine with a really unremarkable Caron displaying innocent saccharine like tendencies.

What more can I say? I love this movie. Sure, it's dated, sure it's old, but classics are classics.(Spoilers) Set in France after World War II, Lili is an orphaned girl who's on the end of her rope. Losing her job as a waitress in a passing carnival, she decides to kill herself. But a crippled and bitter puppeteer named Paul, who hates people, stops her by talking to her through a puppet by the name of Carrot Top. (There are also three other puppets: Reynardo, a sly fox who steals; Margeruite, a vain dancer; and Golo, a cowardly giant.) Paul falls in love with Lili, and Lili falls in love with the puppets, unaware that Paul's the one behind them. They convince her to stay with them and sing with them, and she agrees. The act sells out shows and everyone loves the girl's charm.Lili is in love with a handsome magician named Marcus, whom Paul greatly detests. But the poor girl doesn't find out until later that the magician is a married man who's cheating on his wife. Trying to go and talk to Marcus, Paul grabs her, thinking she's going back to the magician for love. Furious with her struggle, the cripple strikes Lili on the face. Realizing what he did, he limps away where as Lili goes to leave.But as she leaves, Carrot Top tries to convince her to stay or take him with her, because he adores her. Lili starts to feel guilty and is unsure of what to do. Golo tells her that if the "boss" is so mean to her, that he'll protect her from him. Lili tells him that she knows he would, because he's so kind and always knows how she feels. Paul begins to feel sad for hurting Lili and makes Golo shout out, "I'll kill him. I'm gonna kill the boss!" However, after regaining composure, he says, "Well, I'll give him a good talking to at least." Then, Reynardo comes out, carrying a fox fur. Lili thinks he broke his promise not to steal and swiped it when no one was looking. But the fox says he made a deal. If he wasn't able to keep up with the payments, he was going to give the man something in exchange; another fox fur, himself. Lili cries and holds them, saying she won't leave. Suddenly, she feels the puppets trembling and realizes it's Paul.Due to his shyness, Paul can't express how much he loves Lili and gets angry. Lili wonders why he hides behind his puppets. But Paul tells her that he is the puppets: the confident, clever Carrot Top; the cowardly and clumsy giant Golo, who longs to be loved; the vain and jealous Margeruite; and the compromising and lying Reynardo. Angrily, Lili leaves, and Paul looks full of regret. But as the girl is walking she realizes that each puppet was a part of him. And after the most adorable dream sequence EVER (in which she dances with Paul), she turns back, and runs into his arms. He then, gives her lots of kisses, and holds her. And then, the puppets, pleased that the two are now in love, clap with excitement as they watch the two lovebirds.10/10 for the love and sweetness. Buy it today!