L' AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
L' AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, written and directed by Cédric Klapisch (WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY), is a sometimes likeable little film. But like a small plane that never obtains liftoff, the movie seems happy to spend all of its time just taxiing around the runway.
A slice of off-campus college living, the comedy involves a large smorgasbord of European college students sharing one little but vastly overpriced apartment in Barcelona. Their Tower of Babel uses French, English and Spanish as their main communication vehicles, but many other languages are spoken in it as well. Their individual stories never amount to much but each has its own attractive veneer.
Romain Duris, who will be seen later this year opposite Kate Hudson in LE DIVORCE, plays Xavier, the story's central character. As the movie opens, he is advised that his path to success is to leave his native Paris and to get a master's degree in economics from a Spanish university. With these skills under his belt, he'll be ready for a position with the European Commission. (Any bets on whether a year later he'll be happy in a world in which maintaining the right color coding of his office binders is central to his success?)
While abroad, Xavier attempts, without much luck, to maintain a romantic relationship with Martine (Audrey Tautou, AMÉLIE), his hometown girlfriend. Before finding his apartment, Xavier lives briefly with Jean-Michel (Xavier De Guillebon), an obnoxiously loquacious neurosurgeon, and Anne-Sophie (Judith Godrèche), Jean-Michel's excessively repressed wife. Since she's gorgeous and ignored, you know exactly where this part of the storyline is headed.
The best parts of the movie are some cinematic tricks that the editor introduced in post-production. The best of these is a speed-up with the accompanying pitter-patter of little feet as the characters run around at three or four times normal speed. It's undeniably cute. But, like the story itself, the post-production gimmicks are never more than just cute.
L' AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE runs a little long at 1:56. The film is in French, Spanish, Catalan and other languages with English subtitles and in English. It is rated R for "language and sexual content" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, May 16, 2003. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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