Russian Dolls (2005)

Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.

Director:

Cédric Klapisch

Writer:

Cédric Klapisch

Stars:

Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Xavier Rousseau
Kelly Reilly	...	Wendy
Audrey Tautou	...	Martine
Cécile de France	...	Isabelle (as Cécile De France)
Kevin Bishop	...	William
Evguenya Obraztsova	...	Natacha
Irene Montalà	...	Neus
Gary Love	...	Edward
Lucy Gordon	...	Celia Shelburn
Aïssa Maïga	...	Kassia
Martine Demaret	...	Mère Xavier
Pierre Cassignard	...	Platane
Olivier Saladin	...	Gérard
Pierre Gérald	...	Grand-père
Zinedine Soualem	...	M. Boubaker

Storyline

Xavier is now thirty. No longer a student, he is not yet a well-balanced, fulfilled adult either. His career is unsatisfying: Far from being the renowned novelist he aimed to be he must be content with little jobs such as reporter or ghost writer. His greatest "achievement" in "literature" is his collaboration to the script of a corny TV soap! His sentimental life is not much better, rhythmed by one night stands and unfinished romances. It looks as if when he seduces a woman beautiful outside and inside such as Kassia or Wendy he can't keep them. Will he ever bring his life into focus?

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Plot Keywords:

summer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second instalment of a trilogy written and directed by Cédric Klapisch, which follows the journey of Xavier from student to family man. The first chapter is the movie "L'auberge espagnole", released in 2002, and the final chapter is "Casse-tête chinois", released in 2013.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, Wendy greets Xavier on the Eurostar platform. Non-passengers are not permitted access to the platforms at Waterloo.

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Quotes

Martine: Morning! Thank you. I'm happy I stayed with you.
Xavier: Yeah, but you can't stay. I'm expecting a girl... friend.
Martine: It's no big deal. Just tell her the truth. We're old friends and we didn't fuck.
Xavier: Yeah, sure.
Martine: She's your girlfriend?
Xavier: Uh... yeah.
Martine: You have a girlfriend?
Xavier: No, not really.
Martine: Is she your girlfriend or not?
Xavier: I don't have a girlfriend, I have girlfriends.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

During the ending credits there is a scene where Wendy is putting the last piece of the puzzle.

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Connections

Followed by Chinese Puzzle (2013)

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Soundtracks

Smile
Performed by Seti
Written by Yan. Nikolenko

User Reviews

Different than part 1, and underrated.

Like a lot of other people, I went to the cinema to watch part 2 of L'Auberge espagnole. That one was a light, fun movie. It had some meaningful thoughts in it, but overall it was pretty light. However I got something different. Part 2 is a lot deeper in my opinion. It's still entertaining, there are many funny parts. The plot develops quite slowly though, too slow for some people in fact. I'm not one of those, I liked the movie. If you're not against slower drama/romance, you'll probably appreciate it too. It has got artistic scenes, taking a step further in this aspect as well. Overall, it deals with how love works, and with the choices that young people have to make. Shall they chase new partners in order to find the perfect one, or rather settle down? All of this with a fresh, entertaining, and realistic approach - to think of it, I had a similar feeling after I had finished watching Sideways.

Oh I almost forgot - the music is amazing. And Kelly Reilly - you are so hot. A lot better looking than the girl who played the dream girl in fact. :)

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [United States]

Country:

France UK

Language:

French Russian English Spanish Italian

Release Date:

15 June 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Russian Dolls

Filming Locations:

Chalcot Road, Primrose Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,512, 14 May 2006

Gross USA:

$326,095

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,727,301

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lunar Films, StudioCanal, France 2 (FR2)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1