Plot
Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.
Release Year: 2005
Rating: 7.1/10 (9,036 voted)
Critic's Score: 67/100
Director:
Cédric Klapisch
Stars: Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou
Storyline Xavier is now thirty. No longer a student, he is not yet a well-balanced, fulfilled adult either. His career is unsatisfying: Far from being the renowned novelist he aimed to be he must be content with little jobs such as reporter or ghost writer. His greatest "achievement" in "literature" is his collaboration to the script of a corny TV soap! His sentimental life is not much better, rhythmed by one night stands and unfinished romances. It looks as if when he seduces a woman beautiful outside and inside such as Kassia or Wendy he can't keep them. Will he ever bring his life into focus?
Cast: Romain Duris
-
Xavier Rousseau
Kelly Reilly
-
Wendy
Audrey Tautou
-
Martine
Cécile De France
-
Isabelle
Kevin Bishop
-
William
Evguenya Obraztsova
-
Natacha
Irene Montalà
-
Neus
Gary Love
-
Edward
Lucy Gordon
-
Celia Shelburn
Aïssa Maïga
-
Kassia
Martine Demaret
-
Mère Xavier
Pierre Cassignard
-
Platane
Olivier Saladin
-
Gérard
Pierre Gérald
-
Grand-père
Zinedine Soualem
-
M. Boubaker
Filming Locations: Bolshoi Prospekt, St. Petersburg, Russia
Box Office Details
Budget: $12,500,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $16,512
(USA)
(14 May 2006)
(3 Screens)
Gross: $323,331
(USA)
(24 September 2006)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
Germany:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The Kookai store where Cassia works is at 155, Rue de Rennes in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
Goofs:
Continuity:
In the stylized sequence in which Xavier imagines he is following Célia in the "Street with Perfect Proportions," the shadows don't match: The shots on Celia show almost no shadows, but in shots on Xavier, the street is almost completely in shadows.
Quotes: William:
[to a French couple walking by]
Bonjour! I know you! You were ze lady dancing at ze, uh -
[couple starts walking away as William follows]
William:
Oh, no! I saw you dancing! The Moulin Rouge, no?... kicked up your legs like that!
User Review
Don't hesitate, but let yourself be surprised by it.
Rating: 9/10
When I decided to watch this movie in the cinema with one of my
friends, I didn't really know anything about it. All I knew about this
film was what he told me. He said that it was directed by the man who
made "L'Auberge espagnole", which he liked a lot, but he didn't think
that this movie would be a sequel to that one and I believed him. If I
had known that it was a sequel, I would probably not have given it a
try, because in my opinion there are only few sequels worth a watch and
when you haven't seen the first one, it's almost always impossible to
know what exactly they are talking about. But despite what we thought,
this was a sequel.
Even though I hadn't seen the first movie, I could easily understand
the story. Xavier is about to celebrate his thirtieth birthday and he
is on a turning point in his life. He's no longer a student, but he
hasn't yet got a regular adult life either. He's single, works as a
reporter and ghost writer instead of being a renowned novelist,... and
to make things worse, his love life is a gigantic mess. He's afraid of
not finding the right one, because all he has are unfinished romances
and one night stands. When he finally finds a girl that he likes, he
always believes that there is something better out there and not
knowing when to stop looking for more, he is unable to keep them with
him...
I really liked this movie a lot and I guess there is a very good
explanation for it. When watching this movie I had the feeling that it
was me they were talking about. I'm a bit too much like Xavier than
what I sometimes would like to admit. I'm in my late twenties, haven't
got a terrific job, I'm still single, sometimes don't feel ready for
the steady adult life, but still want to enjoy my youth... Even the
friends from all over Europe are the same since I've studied in a
similar project. But even when you can't completely identify yourself
with one of the characters, I believe there is something good in it for
everyone. The story on itself is very well written and thanks to the
different places never feels the same. They have filmed in Paris,
Saint-Petersburg and London and those three cities and the situations
that take place there are different enough to keep you interested from
the beginning until the end. Next to the story, this movie also offers
some very fine acting by all the actors, but what else can you expect
from people like Audrey Tatou, Cécile de France,...
As a conclusion I would like to say that everybody who is about to turn
thirty will probably like it, but even the others will find enough good
and interesting things in this movie. There is some very intelligent
humor, a lot of fine acting and a lack of too many romantic movie
clichés to be found in it. And although I'm sure it will never become a
very popular movie (there were only 12 people in the audience when I
went to see it on a Sunday evening), I'm sure that those who will give
it a try, will not regret it. I know I didn't, I even give this movie a
9/10. If I had seen the first movie and understood from the beginning
what was going on, it might even have been a 10/10. This movie should
be cherished by all.
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