Most of us spend our days stuck on social media, reliving our past, planning on our future, believing that happiness is somewhere still far away. For this last Valentine’s Day, Amazon brought to the small screen a tiny perfect movie. A teenage time-loop story with a down-to-earth lesson. Life’s perfect moments are closer than you think.

Lev Grossman brought his 2016 short story to the small screen for last Valentine’s Day. Directed by Ian Samuels, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things tells the story of two teenagers who are stuck on a time-loop where they live the same day, every day, like for a thousand days. Being aware of that, one of them starts trying to find out how to get out of it and the other one oddly tries the opposite.

While being stuck on that day forever, each of them tries different things, like dating, practicing art, trying to fix things (that the next day-that day they would be unfixed again), learning how to drive or attempting to cure cancer. But perhaps those things are not what they are supposed to do… or pay attention to.

This time-loop plot is not a new one for the film industry, but Grossman and Samuels give a millennial and emotional personal touch. For starters, the story doesn’t get stuck at the characters finding out about their situation and heavily dealing with their confusion, characters are past that.

Ian amuses us with some long unbroken sequence shots and a lot of warm scenes that make our small hearts relent and smile. Also, the setting, the soundtrack, the characters’ humanness and naturality, their family’s situation and even their clothing make all of us feel comfy, emphatic and familiar like it is our own daily life.

What is important about this film’s plot is what the characters discover. What they believe is the key to actually have that day “completed” and being able to move on to the next day: finding every perfect moment on that particular day at their small town. 

Have you ever noticed those? Have you noticed that there are more than we could think of and that they might be just in front of you, but you are too blind, too focused on your stuff, your issues, your future, your past, to see them?

Apparently, these creators know us better than ourselves, because that’s where they get us. That’s why we liked this movie so very much. We get lectured on what we know we mistakenly do every day, in a warm, a little cheesy, but unexpected way. Maybe this is the actual secret for a happy life, looking at the tiny perfect moments.