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Preview by: Jack Foley
FRENCH actress, Audrey Tautou, has, thus far, displayed an uncanny
knack for picking quality projects.
After delicious turns in the likes of audience favourites, Amelie
and Dirty Pretty Things,
she will next appear in the comedy, L’Auberge Espagnole -
which looks set to continue the trend.
Directed by Cédric Klapish, the man behind Peut-être
and Chacun Cherche Son Chat, the film (also known as The Spanish
Apartment), takes a comical look at what happens when a young
Frenchman, Xavier (played by Romain Duiris), moves into an apartment
full of international students in Barcelona.
There he meets an Italian, an English girl, a boy from Denmark,
a young woman from Belgium, a German and a girl from Andalusia,
who join him in a series of adventures that serve as an initiation
in life.
The film is due to be released in America this summer, and will
be distributed by Fox Searchlight after it performed to great
acclaim at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
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Upon release in its native France, it proved one of the top three
domestic hits of 2002, and earned the Audience Award for Best
Picture (2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival); the Best
Screenplay, and Best Female Newcomer (De France) (2003, Lumiere
Awards); and the Best Female Newcomer (De France) (2003 Cesar
Awards).Production of this movie took place in Paris and Barcelona
during 2001, and director, Klapish, opted to shoot it using high-definition
digital video.
According to one European reviewer, Klapish’s film sets out
to show how important it is to meet people, to be hopeful and
optimistic, while comments on the French version of Amazon are
full of praise from film-goers who found the film to be inspiring,
well-directed and supremely well acted.
Both Duiris and Tautou have been singled out for praise, but it
is Cécile de France who seems to be winning most of the
critics’ kudos, having won the French Cesar as most promising
actress for her performance.
In fact, such is the impact she has made as a result of the film,
that de France will next be seen alongside the likes of Jackie
Chan and Steve Coogan in the upcoming blockbuster, Around The
World in 80 Days, which is due to begin shooting soon.
L'Auberge Espagnole, which will be known as Pot Luck in the UK,
is due to be released on May 9.
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