L'auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment), 2002
Dir. Cedric Klapisch"For some idiotic reason, your most horrific experiences are the stories you most love to tell."
L'auberge Espagnole is another coming-of-age story about Xavier, a young French man who decides to go study in Spain to further his career. It's in Spain that he ends up renting a room in an apartment-sized mixing pot, filled with several people from Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy, and other areas, and ends up going through one of the best years of his life that ultimately leads him down a new path.
It's hard to fully describe L'auberge Espagnole, because in the case of many coming-of-age tales, things tend to unfold for no reason, and the plot isn't as important as the journey. Some films are able to pull this off by depicting a brilliant, fun, and moving journey, whereas several films aren't able to grasp this magic and end up having a hollow, shell of a film that never seems to go anywhere. L'auberge Espagnole, luckily, manages to sidestep the mediocrity that most of these films seem to meander in, and ends up being not only a fun experience, but touching and honest, at the same time.
The film starts off rather roughly, and I'll be honest, in the first ten minutes or so I about made up my mind as that I wasn't going to enjoy where this was going. It seemed to be all style and no substance to make up for the cheap cameras it's shot on, but then once Xavier's trip to Spain actually goes underway, the film takes off and slowly starts to draw you in until the credits. And then by that point you'll actually be sad to see the characters go. I would love to see further adventures of this Spanish apartment, and all the wonderful roommates. There's an honest chemistry between them all that lights up the screen and makes this a truly engrossing film.
Sure, it'd be easy to pick apart the faults with this film, and there are several, but ultimately it's a film that relishes in human spirit, in connections, and that ultimately leaves you with a smile on your face. These are wonderful characters, with honest, human interactions that help make this film a charming, enjoyable, and easily recommendable film.
4 out of 5
Yay, one of the ones I suggested! I decided to watch this movie when I found out Kevin Bishop (the British girl's brother) was in it. He was the little boy in Muppet Treasure Island-- one of my favs.
ReplyDeleteI think I felt the same way about the beginning of the movie the first time I saw it. It's strange in that the main character is (still) my least favorite of them all... But I have an affinity for movies that are slightly *off*!
I completely agree! The main character is easily the weakest link in the "apartment". I was much more intrigued by just about anyone else. I think interestingly enough I found the Catalan (ian?) lesbian the most interesting. Her attitude and style made the character so dynamic in interesting. Followed probably by Kevin Bishop's character, who kind of comes about to redeeming himself towards the end.
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