French Postcards (1979)

An American group of exchange students come to Paris to study the language and culture for a year. The film depicts the various interactions between the students and the instructors, ... See full summary »

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writers:

Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz

Stars:

Miles Chapin, Blanche Baker, David Marshall Grant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miles Chapin	...	Joel
Blanche Baker	...	Laura
David Marshall Grant	...	Alex
Valérie Quennessen	...	Toni
Debra Winger	...	Melanie
Mandy Patinkin	...	Sayyid
Marie-France Pisier	...	Madame Catherine Tessier
Jean Rochefort	...	Monsieur Tessier
Lynn Carlin	...	Mrs. Weber
George Coe	...	Mr. Weber
Christophe Bourseiller	...	Pascal
François Lalande	...	Monsieur Levert
Anémone	...	Christine
Véronique Jannot	...	Malsy
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Cécile

Storyline

An American group of exchange students come to Paris to study the language and culture for a year. The film depicts the various interactions between the students and the instructors, including the pretty female director of the institute where they are enrolled.

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Plot Keywords:

institute | sightseeing | school | american abroad | sex | 

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Taglines:

American students go to Paris ... The less they study the more they learn.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France West Germany USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 October 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Baci da Parigi

Filming Locations:

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Roissy-en-France, Val-d'Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, NF Geria II Filmgesellschaft m.b.H.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Joel: You know, you could have told me you'd been here before.
Toni: I didn't even think about Stephen until they mentioned it.
Joel: Mentioned it. They had a goddamn billboard with your picture on it.

User Reviews

Gentle, Sweet Coming of Age Film for the Romantic

This film is a must see for anyone who has ever been an American exchange student abroad. It perfectly captures the mixture of foreignness and familiar that is part and parcel of the exchange experience. The different types of approaches that one might have to an exchange year abroad are well illustrated.

It is, by no means, a great film, but it continues to endure in my memory as a good representation of what my year in Brazil, broadly speaking, was like. Lots of attractive actors, beautiful scenes and a surprising amount of humorous and witty dialog.

I have this on videotape, but the soundtrack has been changed from the original release and the subsequent showings on HBO. The most noticeable change is the opening scene on the bus. Madame Tessier is welcoming the new exchange students to France and tells them they need to immerse themselves in French culture and leave America behind. The bus driver, irritated with her prattling, pops in a tape of a band doing a French version of Do You Believe In Magic (The Lovin' Spoonful). It totally captures how American culture has infiltrated the world's cultures. In the videotape release they replace this song with some generic pop music. They must not have been willing to pay for the musical rights to the song. It's not quite as effective, but it is still a great start to a fun, romantic movie about coming of age in a foreign land.

This truly is a delightful, lite film that will give you a 95 minute taste of living abroad. Rent it if you can and hope that it shows up on DVD sometime soon.