A wonderful film to which Roman Duris stars as Xavier which he plays to aplomb - Xavier doesn't have a lot going for him - he is immature, shallow, selfish, ungrateful - from the way he treats his mum to the way he repays his compatriot by bedding his wife after being offered a place to stay on his arrival in Barcelona - he isn't meant to be likeable and Duris really plays this part to perfection. Xavier has been given a cushy job in the EU via a connection of a father's friend - can he speak Spanish? Apparently not, so he chooses to go to Barcelona to brush up his language skills before he starts on the road to adulthood.
It is about how various European nationalities Erasmus students from different EU countries - co-exist within an apartment in Barcelona, the film is very clever on a lot of levels - my favourite part of the film is when the Belgian character Isabelle (Cecile de France) laments to the tutor about not speaking Spanish in a lecture, he rebukes her that she is in Barcelona and that if she wants the tutor to speak Spanish in a lecture - then she should go to Madrid or South America - there is so much hanging on that little exchange that you can debate until the early hours about Catalan and Spanish identity and that even though Isabelle who is Belgian and is conversant with the language identity battles in her own country, she was clueless about the role of Spanish and Catalan in Barcelona.
It shows Barcelona in its best light - it must be a French School of filmaking where the lighting and colours come to life and makes for a wonderful visual feast - we are going back to 'Le Balon Rouge' here but we see it with Amelie and a lot of French films, this has it also and you breathe in Barcelona - it is a delight and a wonderful film and it made me wish I partook in Erasmus when I had the chance.
It is about how various European nationalities Erasmus students from different EU countries - co-exist within an apartment in Barcelona, the film is very clever on a lot of levels - my favourite part of the film is when the Belgian character Isabelle (Cecile de France) laments to the tutor about not speaking Spanish in a lecture, he rebukes her that she is in Barcelona and that if she wants the tutor to speak Spanish in a lecture - then she should go to Madrid or South America - there is so much hanging on that little exchange that you can debate until the early hours about Catalan and Spanish identity and that even though Isabelle who is Belgian and is conversant with the language identity battles in her own country, she was clueless about the role of Spanish and Catalan in Barcelona.
It shows Barcelona in its best light - it must be a French School of filmaking where the lighting and colours come to life and makes for a wonderful visual feast - we are going back to 'Le Balon Rouge' here but we see it with Amelie and a lot of French films, this has it also and you breathe in Barcelona - it is a delight and a wonderful film and it made me wish I partook in Erasmus when I had the chance.