L'Auberge espagnole
2002 film by Cédric Klapisch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
L'Auberge espagnole (French: [lobɛʁʒ ɛspaɲɔl], lit. 'The Spanish Inn'), released in English as The Spanish Apartment and Pot Luck,[3][4] is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Cédric Klapisch. A co-production between France and Spain,[5] the film stars Romain Duris, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France, Kelly Reilly, Cristina Brondo, Kevin Bishop, Barnaby Metschurat, Federico D'Anna, Iddo Goldberg and Christian Pagh.
- Romain Duris
- Judith Godrèche
- Audrey Tautou
- Cécile de France
- Kelly Reilly
- Cristina Brondo
- Kevin Bishop
- Barnaby Metschurat
- Federico D'Anna
- Iddo Goldberg
- Christian Pagh
| L'Auberge espagnole | |
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French theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Cédric Klapisch |
| Written by | Cédric Klapisch |
| Produced by | Bruno Levy |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Dominique Colin |
| Edited by | Francine Sandberg |
| Music by | Loïk Dury a.k.a. Kouz 1 |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
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| Budget | €5 million[1] |
| Box office | $33.3 million[2] |
The film follows Xavier, an economics graduate student from France who spends a year in Barcelona to study through the Erasmus Programme, sharing an apartment with fellow Erasmus students from all over Western Europe. The dialogue is mostly in French, with some English and much Spanish, a little Catalan, Danish, German and Italian.
It is the first instalment in the "Spanish Apartment" trilogy, which also includes Russian Dolls (2005) and Chinese Puzzle (2013).[6] A television series sequel to the trilogy, Greek Salad, was released on Amazon Prime Video in 2023.
Plot
Xavier, a 24-year-old economics graduate student and aspiring writer from Paris, decides to spend a year in Barcelona through the Erasmus Programme to learn Spanish in order to qualify for a prospective job at the French Ministry of Finance, much to the dismay of his girlfriend Martine. Upon arrival in Barcelona, Xavier meets a married couple from France at the airport, a friendly neurologist named Jean-Michel and his shy wife Anne-Sophie. They invite him to stay in their home until he finds a place to live.
Xavier eventually finds a shared apartment with other students from all over Western Europe: Soledad from Catalonia and her boyfriend, Lars from Denmark; Wendy from England; Alessandro from Italy; and Tobias from Germany. The flatmates develop a companionship as they struggle with their different languages and cultures. When the landlord raises the rent, Xavier invites Isabelle, a Belgian lesbian he befriended in his economics class at the University of Barcelona, to move into the apartment.
By the time Martine visits Xavier in Barcelona, their relationship has become strained. Xavier soon begins an affair with Anne-Sophie, using seduction tips that he learned from Isabelle. When Wendy's brother William comes from England to stay in the apartment for a while, he creates tension due to his abrasive manner and culturally insensitive comments about the nationalities of the flatmates. Later, when Xavier visits Paris for a day, Martine breaks up with him, accusing him of only caring about himself, his studies and his career.
Back in Barcelona, Xavier becomes depressed and has visions of Dutch humanist Erasmus. He seeks Jean-Michel's advice, but he tells Xavier that Anne-Sophie has confessed to the affair, and orders him to stop seeing her. When Wendy's boyfriend Alistair arrives for a surprise visit while she is in bed with Bruce, an American she met at a nightclub, the flatmates work together to help Wendy cover up her affair, with William pretending to be Bruce's lover.
After saying goodbye to his new friends at his farewell party, Xavier returns to Paris, where he meets with Martine one last time before they part amicably. On his first day on the job at the Ministry of Finance, Xavier impulsively runs away and pursues his dream of becoming a writer, recounting his experiences in Barcelona in a story titled The Spanish Inn.
Cast
- Romain Duris as Xavier
- Judith Godrèche as Anne-Sophie
- Audrey Tautou as Martine
- Cécile de France as Isabelle
- Kelly Reilly as Wendy
- Cristina Brondo as Soledad
- Federico D'Anna as Alessandro
- Barnaby Metschurat as Tobias
- Christian Pagh as Lars
- Kevin Bishop as William
- Xavier de Guillebon as Jean-Michel
- Wladimir Yordanoff as Jean-Charles Perrin
- Irene Montalà as Neus
- Javier Coromina as Juan
- Iddo Goldberg as Alistair
- Martine Demaret as Xavier's mother
- Olivier Raynal as Bruce
- Paulina Gálvez as the flamenco teacher
- Jacno as Xavier's father
- Zinedine Soualem as the barman
Title
The phrase auberge espagnole is a French idiom, literally translated as "Spanish inn" or "Spanish hotel". It describes a place where customers can eat what they bring – by extension, that one must be independent.[7]
Another French interpretation is what in English is known as "Going Dutch" or "potluck", hence its English title.
A third meaning of auberge espagnole is a common resting area for travellers from a variety of different cultures and regions.[8]
Soundtrack
- Radiohead – "No Surprises"
- Daft Punk – "Aerodynamic"
- Sonia & Selena – "Que Viva La Noche"
- Marc-Antoine Charpentier – "Te Deum"
- Ali Farka Touré – "Ai Du"
- Frédéric Chopin – "Opus 64 No 2 Waltz in C sharp minor"
- Africando All Stars – "Betece"
- Mala Rodriguez – "La Cocinera"
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "This multicultural comedy captures the chaos and excitement of being young."[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane International Film Festival | Audience Award | L'Auberge espagnole | Won |
| César Awards | Best Film | L'Auberge espagnole | Nominated |
| Best Director | Cédric Klapisch | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Judith Godrèche | Nominated | |
| Most Promising Actress | Cécile de France | Won | |
| Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation | Cédric Klapisch | Nominated | |
| Best Editing | Francine Sandberg | Nominated | |
| European Film Awards | People's Choice Award for Best European Film | L'Auberge espagnole | Nominated |
| Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Audience Award | L'Auberge espagnole | Won |
| Lumière Awards | Best Screenplay | Cédric Klapisch | Won |
| Most Promising Actress | Cécile de France | Won | |
| Sydney Film Festival | Audience Award | L'Auberge espagnole | Won |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | L'Auberge espagnole | Nominated |
