L'Auberge Espagnole (2002)
"L'auberge espagnole" (original title)

A strait-laced French student moves into an apartment in Barcelona with a cast of six other characters from all over Europe. Together, they speak the international language of love and friendship.

Director:

Cédric Klapisch

Writer:

Cédric Klapisch

Stars:

Romain Duris, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou

8 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Xavier
Judith Godrèche	...	Anne-Sophie
Audrey Tautou	...	Martine
Cécile De France	...	Isabelle
Kelly Reilly	...	Wendy (as Keilly Reilly)
Cristina Brondo	...	Soledad
Federico D'Anna	...	Alessandro (as Fédérico D'anna)
Barnaby Metschurat	...	Tobias
Christian Pagh	...	Lars
Kevin Bishop	...	William
Xavier De Guillebon	...	Jean-Michel
Wladimir Yordanoff	...	Jean-Charles Perrin
Irene Montalà	...	Neus (as Irène Montala)
Javier Coromina	...	Juan
Iddo Goldberg	...	Alistair

Storyline

As part of a job that he is promised, Xavier, an economics student in his twenties, signs on to a European exchange program in order to gain working knowledge of the Spanish language. Promising that they'll remain close, he says farewell to his loving girlfriend, then heads to Barcelona. Following his arrival, Xavier is soon thrust into a cultural melting pot when he moves into an apartment full of international students. An Italian, an English girl, a boy from Denmark, a young girl from Belgium, a German and a girl from Tarragona all join him in a series of adventures that serve as an initiation to life.

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Plot Keywords:

student | apartment | language | friendship | english | 

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Taglines:

They came from Paris, Rome, London and Berlin to... l'Auberge Espagnole ...where a year can change a lifetime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Details

Country:

France Spain

Language:

French Spanish English Catalan Danish German Italian

Release Date:

19 June 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

The Spanish Apartment

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€5,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$59,309 (USA) (16 May 2003)

Gross:

$3,895,664 (USA) (19 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bac Films, Ce Qui Me Meut Motion Pictures, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 111 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the English subtitles, several sections are purposefully translated incorrectly to preserve the humorous nature of the film. The list of strange names around Paris is changed to "Honolulu, Punxsutawney, Piccadilly, Massachusetts, Saskatoon and Machu Picchu;" and during the scene in which Wendy mispronounces "Xavier n'est pas ici..." the English subtitles say "Xavier eez not here..."

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Goofs

As Xavier makes his way to his new job near the end of the film, he is wearing a coat, tie, and jeans, and he has his hands in his pockets. But when he gets there, he is wearing slacks that go with the coat, and he is carrying a briefcase.

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Quotes

Wendy: Why do you always have to smoke joints in *my* room?
Alessandro: Because it's comfortable.
Lars: It's the only clean place in the apartment.
[Tobias and Soledad laugh nervously, Wendy looks desperate]
Soledad: Take it easy, Wendy.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, each actor is credited along with the flag of the country where their character is from.

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Connections

Featured in Russian Dolls (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Que viva la noche"
Performed by Sonia & Selena
(X. Ten / J. Guillem / G. Galofre)
© Punto Music Publishing, S.L. / Novel Music, 2001
Courtesy of (P) Vale Music Spain, S.L., 2001

User Reviews

A Delightful and Funny Tale of Friendship and Love in a Unified Europe

In France, Xavier (Romain Duris) is a young economist of twenty and something years, trying to get a job in a governmental department through a friend of his father. He is advised to have a specialization in Spanish economy and language to get a good position. He decides to apply in an European exchange program called "Erasmus" and move to Barcelona to improve his knowledges in Spanish culture and language. She leaves his girlfriend Martine (Audry Tautou), promising to keep a close contact with her, and once in Barcelona, he is temporarily lodged by a French doctor Jean-Michel (Xavier de Guillebon) and his young and lonely wife Anne-Sophie (Judith Godrèche) he had met in the airport. Later, he moves to an apartment with international students: the English Wendy (Kelly Reilly), the Spanish Soledad (Cristina Brondo), the Italian Alessandro (Fédérico D'anna), the Danish Lars (Christian Pagh) and the German Tobias (Barnaby Metschurat). Then the Belgium Isabelle (Cécile de France) and Wendy's brother William (Kevin Bishop) join the group, and Xavier learns Spanish language, and finds friendship and love in his experience living abroad. "L' Auberge Espagnole" is one of those movies the viewer becomes sad when it ends. The story is a delightful and funny tale of friendship and love, in a globalized world and an unified Europe. This very charming movie made me feel good and happy, although I have never experienced to live in a republic of students. The newcomer William provokes the funniest situations along the story, with his big mouth and short brain. Further, it great to see a fresh approach of students living together different from those dumb American fraternities and their stereotypes, common in American movies. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Albergue Espanhol" (Spanish Auberge")