Chinese Puzzle (2013)

A 40-year-old father's life is complicated when the mother of his two children moves to New York. Since he can't bear them growing up far away from him, he decides to move there as well.

Director:

Cédric Klapisch

Writer:

Cédric Klapisch (screenplay)

Stars:

Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Xavier Rousseau
Audrey Tautou	...	Martine
Cécile de France	...	Isabelle (as Cécile De France)
Kelly Reilly	...	Wendy
Sandrine Holt	...	Ju
Flore Bonaventura	...	Isabelle de Groote - la babysitter
Jochen Hägele	...	Hegel et Schopenhauer - les philosophes allemands
Benoît Jacquot	...	Monsieur Rousseau - le père de Xavier
Pablo Mugnier-Jacob	...	Tom Rousseau
Margaux Mansart	...	Mia Rousseau
Amin Djakliou	...	Lucas
Clara Abbasi	...	Jade
Li Jun Li	...	Nancy
Sharrieff Pugh	...	Ray
Peter McRobbie	...	L'agent bureau immigration

Storyline

Xavier is now forty years old. So are Wendy, Isabelle and Martine. At forty you are supposed to be more mature and live a a steadier life than at twenty. But not Xavier. Well, to be fair, he has made some progress in the field of thoughtfulness (he has even become a writer) but as concerns his everyday life, it is far from well-ordered. To be totally honest it is not entirely Xavier's fault if his wife Wendy has suddenly left him for a new companion in New York and taken their two children with her. Realizing he can't stand living without them, Xavier decides to settle down in Big Apple in order to remain close to them. He finds a home in Chinatown and it does not take long before trouble comes his way.

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Plot Keywords:

sham marriage | chinatown | frenchman abroad | marital separation | first person narration | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France USA Belgium

Language:

French English Spanish Chinese Yiddish

Release Date:

16 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lo mejor de nuestras vidas

Filming Locations:

JC Studios, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,544, 18 May 2014

Gross USA:

$338,523

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,483,008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Opposite Field Pictures, Belgacom, Ce Qui Me Meut Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last 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 second chapter is "Les poupées russes", released in 2005.

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Goofs

The immigration enforcement agency in the U.S. is referred to as the INS. However, the INS ceased to exist in 2003 when it was merged into the new Department of Homeland Security.

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Connections

Follows Russian Dolls (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Blues Is Now
Performed by Kraked Unit
Label: Ce qui me meut / Believe Recordings
Copyright: Ce qui me meut, 2013

User Reviews

To be a good father, one must take whatever it costs.

It is the third and final movie of the 'Spanish Apartment' trilogy. The story of a middle aged father and his care for his children make him to pick a challenged life ahead. The initial parts were very slow, I feel you need to be a patience. While progressing, the story development turns to be a gripping. Afterwards it gets bigger with introducing more characters and that makes a widely open story that can travel any direction. That mean definitely not easy to predict the end. I am glad that I saw it and you should not miss this trilogy, one of the best drama-romedy series ever told.

The 40 years old divorced Xavier aim to follow his ex path to the New York to be staying close to his children. He makes it and one of his old friends who has settled in New York helps him to find an apartment. He finds a decent job and having everything going stable, his ex allows to share the his part being a parent. The time and days moving rapidly, the trouble approaches him because his stay is limited as he came on a tourist visa. His trouble doubles and he must overcome soon with a solution. Besides, reuniting with his other old friend and affair are the other side of the tale that uncovers.

''Those tiny initials in the sidewalk held a kind of fundamental proof that my birth wasn't a total accident.''

Once again the director's favorite actor Roman Duris appeared for a wonderful role and he did not disappoint. He is one of my favorites from French films, maybe because I liked most of his movies. His performance was amazing like always and definitely he was the center of attraction in this film. It was about the three things, being a father, immigrant and kind of love rectangle. As he (Roman Duris) was divorced, but being a father of two young children his responsibility is to give them love and care. Especially not to discard them like his father did for him. So he's ready to give up anything in the world. The love rectangle was not exactly a fight over each other. It was cleverly briefed, very modern with the understanding kind of relationship. This is what the movie impresses very much, the shuffled characters with one man at the center.

The last 20-25 minutes was so good, the pace accelerates along the crucial portions which gives thrilling pleasure. My rating varied from the lower to the higher while watching this movie in each section till it went to the last part. So felt keeping calm all the way paid off with a great pleasure. I have seen few French movies of 2013 and this one is one of the best. It was about everything, like, a little meaningful about being a parent, humors, thrill scenes, finding love and affections, friendship. And again, I am saying that it is worth a lot to try at once.