There are plenty
of sequels to action movies, because there are always new villains and
injustices for heroes to battle against. There are no shortages of horror
sequels, giving the impression that some monsters will never die; at least not
as long as their survival continues to sell tickets. The one genre which rarely
sees a sequel is the romantic comedy, because to continue the story often means
admitting that the ‘happily ever after’ ending from the previous installment was
somewhat of a lie. Filmmaker Cédric Klapisch tackles this impossible task for
the second time in one narrative, with time between each sequel being his only
saving grace.
The first time
we met aspiring writer Xavier (Romain Duris) was in 2002, in the shared Spanish
apartment of the first film’s title (L’Auberge
Espagnole), where he began his journey as an aspiring writer. This is also
where Xavier met many of the longtime friends and on-again, off-again romantic
entanglements. These characters were brought back for a second narrative and a
new romance amongst the same group of friends with Russian Dolls (2005), giving Xavier a new happy ending with Wendy
(Kelly Reilly). Nearly a decade later, we join Xavier and Wendy at the tail end
of their relationship as the introduction to Chinese Puzzle, what we must assume will be the last installment in
Klapisch’s international romantic franchise.
Despite the
name, Chinese Puzzle takes place in New York City Manhattan Chinatown and
attempts to build a new life. The focus this time around is much more mature
and responsible, with the priorities lying with the children rather than
various romantic exploits. This requires even greater precision from Klapisch
in the integration of believable romance in Xavier’s life, which parallels with
his struggle to write his next book.
The Blu-ray
release of Chinese Puzzle includes a
couple of extras, from cast & crew interviews to a making-of featurette.
There is also a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
8.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical Significance:
7/10
Special Features: 6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment