What it’s about
Offered a job by France's Ministry of Finance if he can learn Spanish, young economics student Xavier (Duris) enrolls in a year-long language program that takes him to Barcelona, despite the misgivings of his girlfriend, Martine (Tautou). Once there, Xavier gets lessons in life and love when he moves into an apartment crowded with feisty multi-nationals like himself. But his relationship with Martine is severely tested when he finds himself attracted to lonely (and married) Anne-Sophie (Godreche).
Why we love it
This fizzy romantic adventure combines screwball laughs with eye-opening student-travel mishaps among the youthful, sexually vibrant cast of characters, who hail from all over Europe. Klapisch handles the madness with delightful cheek, even deploying split screens and other visual devices to heighten the comic tensions. Duris is a winner as our first-person narrator and angst-filled protagonist, credibly parsing the benefits and drawbacks of a future in French bureaucracy. Tautou (“Amelie”) and Godresch provide strong support as the women he must choose between.