L'Auberge Espagnole

The Spanish apartment is a lovely cosmopolitan movie about the interaction between a group of young adults of different nationalities. In order to afford the high rent of an apartment in Barcelona, seven students share a tiny, cramped living area (which could probably be qualified as a hovel) and are forced to adapt to each other's cultures and living habits. Their differences have serious implications on the state of cleanliness of the apartment, fridge spaces, diets, etc., and minor conflicts usually break out with the great overlap in living space.

Xavier, the main character, has been looking like a place like this all his life - a place to meet heterogenous but close-knit characters, a place to learn about different cultures, sexual orientations, and beliefs. An interesting storyline twist pulls each incoherent strand of the plot together in the very manner each unique character (hailing from Spain, the UK, France, Italy, and Germany) is tied to the identity of the group.

While various stereotypes are applied in the portrayal of representatives from each European culture, the movie is high on humour value. This is largely built upon the differences between cultures, countries, and languages - this sometimes tends to the more serious angle of bringing out the bigotry that afflicts our subconscious. There is some interesting wordplay and an undercurrent of romance through the film, although this is somewhat trivial.

On the whole, this movie has the unavoidable effect of broadening one's worldview by splicing various cultures together in a single condensed experience. Archetypical perspectives of various European cultures are highlighted, making the experience especially enjoyable for the Asian viewer. Romain Duris (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté, 2005) delivers a convincing, ultra-French dialogue and is supported by a stellar cast that strikes a perfect balance between cross-cultural tension and student identity.

Anon.