|
Directed by: Cedric Klapisch Starring: Roman Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou Les Poupees Russes (Russian Dolls) is the second film from Cedric Klapisch revolving around the story of Xavier, who we first met in 2002's L' Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment). This film is set five years after The Spanish Aparment. Although it is not necessary to see the first film it certainly helps to understand the characters' history together. It is just such a good film too, you should definately make the time to see it before this. If you haven't seen the first film and would like to, I suggest you do not read further than this for now. This film is a far sober affair than the first, and has a more central theme; that of commitment, and finding "the one". We follow the past year of Xavier's life as he composes it on his laptop, sitting in the toilet of a high speed train, destination unknown. All we know at this point is that he has recently met up with the friends from the earlier film for a marriage in Russia. As his story starts we find out that he is still friendly with his ex girlfriend, Martine, who has a child by another man. He has also kept in touch with his lesbian friend Isabelle from the Spanish Apartment. As a young, aspiring, and somewhat desparate writer, Xavier takes any jobs he can to get by, and one of them leads him back in contact with Wendy, the English member of the original apartment. Together they are tasked to write a script for a corny love story for summer TV. The various relationships he describes indicate someone who is still doubtful on the concept of love. His search for love is the search for perfection, with his previous girlfriends as the Russian Dolls of the title. The further the story unfolds, the more we realize that Xavier still has no idea what he is looking for. Or rather, he may be searching for something unattainable. He is surrounded by people involved to some extent in a variety of relationships, all searching for something or someone; from his mum and her new boyfriend, to Wendy, and finally to William, Wendy's brother, who we learn is getting married in Russia. Through all this Xavier stumbles from one mishap to the next, perhaps finding and then losing real love and friendship, until the story concludes with William's wedding, and a somewhat final resolution. At this point you may be thinking.. "bleh, yeah just another corny love story", and it's kind of true. The reason the original movie was so good, and why I like this one alot, is the characters. Although some of the more enjoyable people from the first movie are only really in this film towards the end, Xavier is still someone who you can relate to (although sometimes you just want to punch him). The other great thing this movie has going for it is the cultural barrage. The film is set in Paris, London and St Petersburg, and there are at least four different languages spoken. For someone like myself from Australia, isolated somewhat from the rest of the world, it's a bit of escapism. It's not quite as fantastic as the first for cultural diversity, but it is still a visual and aural feast for European romantics. The cast is all great. Romain Duris is again fantastic as Xavier, Audrey Tautou reprises her Martine role, with far more screen time than in the original film, and Kelly Reilly gives a good performance as Wendy. Kevin Bishop's character William is a bit more subdued this time around, although his first five minutes in Paris are classic William.  The rest of the cast performs admirably, especially the girl who's walking down the perfect Russian street (you will get this when you see the film  ). I'd like to rate this highly, and in the end I am going to give it 4.5/5. It has a huge relevance to 20 somethings (I'm 28, same as as Xavier), and all the characters are people I'd love to share a beer with. I loved the film, but I just felt that it wasn't quite as enjoyable as The Spanish Apartment. I don't know where this would be playing in the US, I saw it at an independant art house theatre, and I would imagine it would play at similar venues in the states. RATING: 4.5 PROS: Culture, romance and great characters CONS: I don't know, you tell me?! ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409184/
|
#
?
Jan 7, 2006 18:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 05:07 |
|