L'auberge espagnole – Wiedersehen in St. Petersburg (2005)

L’auberge espagnole – Wiedersehen in St. Petersburg: Directed by Cédric Klapisch. With Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France. Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.

“When I decided to watch this movie in the cinema with one of my friends, I didnu0026#39;t really know anything about it. All I knew about this film was what he told me. He said that it was directed by the man who made u0026quot;Lu0026#39;Auberge espagnoleu0026quot;, which he liked a lot, but he didnu0026#39;t think that this movie would be a sequel to that one and I believed him. If I had known that it was a sequel, I would probably not have given it a try, because in my opinion there are only few sequels worth a watch and when you havenu0026#39;t seen the first one, itu0026#39;s almost always impossible to know what exactly they are talking about. But despite what we thought, this was a sequel. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEven though I hadnu0026#39;t seen the first movie, I could easily understand the story. Xavier is about to celebrate his thirtieth birthday and he is on a turning point in his life. Heu0026#39;s no longer a student, but he hasnu0026#39;t yet got a regular adult life either. Heu0026#39;s single, works as a reporter and ghost writer instead of being a renowned novelist,… and to make things worse, his love life is a gigantic mess. Heu0026#39;s afraid of not finding the right one, because all he has are unfinished romances and one night stands. When he finally finds a girl that he likes, he always believes that there is something better out there and not knowing when to stop looking for more, he is unable to keep them with him…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI really liked this movie a lot and I guess there is a very good explanation for it. When watching this movie I had the feeling that it was me they were talking about. Iu0026#39;m a bit too much like Xavier than what I sometimes would like to admit. Iu0026#39;m in my late twenties, havenu0026#39;t got a terrific job, Iu0026#39;m still single, sometimes donu0026#39;t feel ready for the steady adult life, but still want to enjoy my youth… Even the friends from all over Europe are the same since Iu0026#39;ve studied in a similar project. But even when you canu0026#39;t completely identify yourself with one of the characters, I believe there is something good in it for everyone. The story on itself is very well written and thanks to the different places never feels the same. They have filmed in Paris, Saint-Petersburg and London and those three cities and the situations that take place there are different enough to keep you interested from the beginning until the end. Next to the story, this movie also offers some very fine acting by all the actors, but what else can you expect from people like Audrey Tatou, Cécile de France,… u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs a conclusion I would like to say that everybody who is about to turn thirty will probably like it, but even the others will find enough good and interesting things in this movie. There is some very intelligent humor, a lot of fine acting and a lack of too many romantic movie clichés to be found in it. And although Iu0026#39;m sure it will never become a very popular movie (there were only 12 people in the audience when I went to see it on a Sunday evening), Iu0026#39;m sure that those who will give it a try, will not regret it. I know I didnu0026#39;t, I even give this movie a 9/10. If I had seen the first movie and understood from the beginning what was going on, it might even have been a 10/10. This movie should be cherished by all.”