CHINESE PUZZLE / Casse-tête chinois
West Coast Premiere • Comedy • France 2013
DCP • 1:85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 114 min
Directed by: Cédric Klapisch
Written by: Cédric Klapisch
Cinematography: Natasha Braier
Film Editing: Anne-Sophie Bion
Original Score: Loik Dury, Christophe “Disco” Minck
Produced by: Bruno Lévy (Ce Qui Me Meut)
Cast: Romain Duris (Xavier), Audrey Tautou (Martine), Cécile De France (Isabelle), Kelly Reilly (Wendy)
International Sales: StudioCanal
US Distributor: Cohen Media Group • cohenmedia.net
US release date: May 17, 2014
Life is complicated, just ask the ghosts of Hegel and Schopenhauer. That’s what Xavier does, a genial fortyish author who, wanting to remain close to his young children, trades the comforts of Paris for the cultural kaleidoscope of New York City. Camped out in the living room of his old friend, Isabelle, and her female companion, and making ends meet as a bicycle courier, the freewheeling Xavier rides headlong into a series of fresh emotional “complications” that just might be the thing he needs to get him past a creative slump. Eleven years ago, filmmaker Cédric Klapisch first introduced us to Xavier and his band of merry multi-nationals in the smash L’auberge espagnole. Two years later, Russian Dolls checked back in to see how life was treating them. Now Chinese Puzzle brings their stories to a frothy and satisfying conclusion that gives each of its stars their moment to shine.
The question of how a larger group affects a person’s life is a common theme in the films of writer/director Cédric Klapisch. In When the Cat’s Away (1995) he explores how a Bastille neighborhood influences a young woman as she searches for her lost cat. Later, in Family Resemblances (1996) a man will watch his dysfunctional family fall to petty bickering as they “celebrate” a birthday. And again in Chinese Puzzle, the third installment of his Auberge trilogy, the amiable Xavier is swept up in the entanglements of lifelong friends. The film’s setting marks Klapisch’s return to New York, a city he got to know when he studied film at NYU. His first feature, Little Nothings (1992), about a Parisian store manager trying to run his business the American way, was nominated for a César, and established Klapisch as a filmmaker to watch. And we’ve been watching him ever since.
“…Serves as a seductive advertisement for modern urban living.”
- Charles Gant VARIETY
“There’s a palpable chemistry between him [Duris] and his major co-stars, especially Tautou and de France, that feels exactly like that of old friends, picking up just where they left off. “
- Leslie Felperin HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“The success or failure of Chinese Puzzle all rests on the shoulders of Xavier and fortunately, Duris is more than capable of taking the weight.”
- Ben Nicholson CINEVUE
