L’Auberge Espagnole, written and directed by Cédric Klapisch

L’Auberge Espagnole, written and directed by Cédric Klapisch

10 out of 10!!

A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

This is one of the best films I know.

It is in my top 20 favorites.

-          It is sparkling, happy, fresh, smart, funny, beautifully acted and happy!

Romain Duris, the hero of the movie is a fantastic actor.

On top of a rare talent and nonchalance, he has a charisma and a halo.

Even when he is woken up by his Barcelona host, the doctor who wants Xavier to take his wife to the Gaudi sights he is funny.

And he just says:

-          Oui, oui, oui…oui, oui, oui

Another time, it is:

-          Vachement…c’est vachement sympa

And the feeling I have that the dialogue does not matter so much, although I consider it glorious here, Romain Duris will make it shine.

This young talent has proven himself in both comedy and drama, with extraordinary skill and outstanding presence:

-          The Beat That My Heart Skipped aka De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté, Heartbreaker aka L’arnacoeur

These are just two eloquent proves of the tremendous power that this actor has.

And the other actors and especially actresses are equally magnificent in this resplendent, shining comedy:

-          Judith Godrèche is marvelous as Anne- Sophie, Audrey Tautou is very good as usual in the role of Martine and Cécile De France is absolutely remarkable in the challenging and serene role of Isabelle

Xavier travels to Barcelona to complete his studies of Spanish and Economy and he meets a group of interesting individuals.

At the airport, there is the doctor and his wife and they engage with the hero, addressing him an invitation to visit and stay.

Which he does, then takes Anne- Sophie, the beautiful, if rather confused wife, to see the beautiful Gaudi architecture.

Isabelle is a colleague from the Economy classes and I thought that Xavier has a crash on her-as well as on Anne-Sophie.

After a challenging interview, Xavier is accepted in an apartment shared by…an Italian, an English girl, a man from Denmark, a German a girl from Spain and finally…Isabell.

It looks like a crazy place and it works in a magic, if at times conflictual manner, with humor and positive attitude.

Because the owner of the flat is upset when he visits with the drawing on one wall, the absent Madonna statue and the apparent state of disorder, he increases the rent to 180,000 pesetas and they need another flat mate.

Isabelle is interviewed and then accepted, after which she becomes even closer to Xavier, an intimacy that promised to become sexual.

Well, Isabelle surprises Xavier and later Wendy and other friends when she says she is a lesbian and gives Xavier lessons on how to seduce…other girls.

With this special, erotic and rather funny training, the hero becomes the lover of Anne-Sophie, with the beautiful Barcelona as background.

From one moment on, Xavier starts having visions and he imagines seeing Erasmus, in his medieval clothes.

The one to treat him is…his lover’s husband and there are other humorous complications in this web of friendships.

The dialogue is fabulous and keeps changing from French to English and then Spanish, with inevitable confusions and laughter;

-          La fac is faculty in French, but when Xavier’s mother says it, Wendy is shocked to hear…fuck

Exceptional movie!