If you've ever been to another country, one where you don't speak the language, you know the feeling; you know, the feeling that everyday, mundane conversation sounds exotic. That couple on the Metro in Paris is certainly discussing the works of Celine. They can't possibly be talking about the new episode of "Survivor," can they?
While "L'Auberge espagnole," the new film by writer and director Cedric Klapisch is a funny and smart comedy, the unfamiliar faces and exotic settings make it more enjoyable than an English language version with Janeane Garafolo or Mira Sorvino would be.
Twenty-five-year-old Xavier (Romain Duris) lives in Paris and is studying economics. But to get that coveted job at the government ministry where his father has a friend, Xavier is convinced that he must learn Spanish and get to know Spain and its economy. To that end, he decides to spend a year in Barcelona.
While he's happy to get away from his clingy mom for 12 months, he's more than a little sad to leave behind his girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou of "Amelie"). As soon as his plane hits the tarmac, though, he meets a pushy French doctor returning with his attractive new wife to Barcelona, where he works as a brain surgeon. When Xavier can't find an apartment, he ends up sleeping on the couple's couch.
That is until he finds the perfect flat; one inhabited by an Italian, a Dane, a Spaniard, an Englishwoman and a German. All young, all attractive, all fun. Later, they are joined by a Belgian lesbian who teaches Xavier about how to love a women. It's knowledge that will soon come in very handy for him.
They love, they live, they have fun, they have spats, but at the heart of it they are all Europeans. Maybe that's why some of them get unusually upset when the English girl starts sleeping with an American guy! (Is it coincidence that the loudmouth who manages to insult each of the Europeans in turn is the English girl's brother? One World Cup and two world wars, right?)
Xavier loves his new apartment, but his life back in Paris is crumbling. More specifically, his relationship with Martine is falling apart. On her visit, she feels uncomfortable in the apartment and criticizes the place to which Xavier has become so attached. His devotion to her is threatened and we wonder if he'll ever go back to Paris.
{INSERT_RELATED}"L'Auberge espagnole" is Parisian slang for a "free for all" but the film doesn't really have the wild feel that the title might suggest. Really, it's more "Friends" as a thinly-veiled analogy for the European Union. Xav may arrive in Spain feeling terribly out of place, but he soon fits right in, and will return home as an open-minded, conscientious European.
There are even round-table discussions at the pub about whether university classes should be taught in Spanish or Catalan, showing that Klapisch is truly attuned to some of the major issues of European integration.
The film is fun and a pleasure to watch thanks to some quirky effects and some good performances, as well as a nice recurring Radiohead track, "No Surprises." There are also some heavy issues that get slipped into a light-hearted film without bogging things down. Admittedly, much of that will be lost on American audiences, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the film anyway.
"L'Auberge espagnole" opens Fri., June 20 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
