Cédric Klapisch showed his breadth as a filmmaker when, in 1996, he completed two wonderful films in starkly contrasting genres and styles: "Chacun cherche son chat" ("When the Cat's Away"), an endearing light comedy about the eccentrics inhabiting a Parisian neighborhood, and "Un air de famille" ("Family Resemblances"), an intense, claustrophobic psychodrama about the propagation and feeding of neurosis within a family. He made other films after that, which I have not seen, and then came "L'Auberge espagnole" ("The Spanish Apartment") (2002) and now its sequel, "Russian Dolls," both of which, while wildly popular, I find quite dull, really boring in comparison with the two films he created a decade earlier.
Nothing much happens. The old international gang who grew fond of each other as college students in Barcelona (as depicted in "L'Auberge") reunite in St. Petersburg for the marriage of one of their old chums, William (Kevin Bishop), to a Russian girl, Natacha (Evguenya Obraztsova). This event brings to a head the conflict about commitment that has plagued the narcissistic, immature Xavier (Romain Duris) in his on-again-off-again relationship with the statuesque Wendy (Kelly Reilly). At one point Xavier escapes from Wendy's clutches for a brief romp with the dazzling beauty Celia (Lucy Gordon). And so it goes. Will Xavier ever grow up? Will Wendy's short skirts eventually disappear altogether? (Yawn)
I suppose these films are well received by younger adults everywhere, in part because they see reflected in the characters their own struggles to achieve and sustain intimacy, in part because the players come from so many places that younger viewers in almost any western nation can find one of their own on the screen here, and also because the ensemble is composed of good looking people. But the maturational issues are addressed ever so much better in Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset."
Besides Duris, Reilly and Bishop, also reunited for the sequel are Audrey Tautou (as Martine), Cécile De France (Isabelle), Irene Montalà (Neus), Cristina Brondo (Soledad), Federico D'Anna (Alessandro), Barnaby Metschurat (Tobias) and Christian Pagh (Lars). (Zzzzz) My grades: 5.5/10 (C+) (Seen on 01/23/07)
Nothing much happens. The old international gang who grew fond of each other as college students in Barcelona (as depicted in "L'Auberge") reunite in St. Petersburg for the marriage of one of their old chums, William (Kevin Bishop), to a Russian girl, Natacha (Evguenya Obraztsova). This event brings to a head the conflict about commitment that has plagued the narcissistic, immature Xavier (Romain Duris) in his on-again-off-again relationship with the statuesque Wendy (Kelly Reilly). At one point Xavier escapes from Wendy's clutches for a brief romp with the dazzling beauty Celia (Lucy Gordon). And so it goes. Will Xavier ever grow up? Will Wendy's short skirts eventually disappear altogether? (Yawn)
I suppose these films are well received by younger adults everywhere, in part because they see reflected in the characters their own struggles to achieve and sustain intimacy, in part because the players come from so many places that younger viewers in almost any western nation can find one of their own on the screen here, and also because the ensemble is composed of good looking people. But the maturational issues are addressed ever so much better in Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset."
Besides Duris, Reilly and Bishop, also reunited for the sequel are Audrey Tautou (as Martine), Cécile De France (Isabelle), Irene Montalà (Neus), Cristina Brondo (Soledad), Federico D'Anna (Alessandro), Barnaby Metschurat (Tobias) and Christian Pagh (Lars). (Zzzzz) My grades: 5.5/10 (C+) (Seen on 01/23/07)