Les Poupées Russes - 24th May 2006

I was really looking forward to this film. It is the sequel to L'auberge espagnole, a film which chronicles the experiences of French student Xavier during a year spent studying abroad (with the Erasmus programme). I first saw this film in Berlin, on my Erasmus year and the parallels between Xavier's experiences and my own were plentiful (apart from the affair with that married woman.) So I was curious to see how this film would show Xavier's post-Erasmus life.

On the whole it was rather depressing. Where l'auberge espagnole was a celebration of youth, les poupées russes was a mourning of middle-age. In this film we see Xavier and the rest of the Erasmus gang dealing with middle-aged problems: shitty jobs, shitty relationships and the gradual realisation that whatever happens, nothing can live up to the expectations of one's youth. L'auberge showed young people having fun whereas the main emotions from this film seemed to be despair and resignation.

Even the fabulous European nature of the film (Xavier flits between Paris, London and St. Petersburg) shows how Europe has grown closer over the past few years but just highlights how much the original Erasmus group has been fractured and is spread all over the continent. Where once they were all concentrated in Barcelona it seems now that the whole of Europe is the post-Erasmites' playground.

The film had rather a unique style: stories within stories within stories (as the Russian Dolls of the title) and would switch between them smoothly, all the while narrated by Xavier. There were some very clever touches and some genuinely funny moments.

Judged on its own merits this film was still very good; it had several different stories, and was consistently entertaining. However, compared to the first film it couldn't help but be inferior and make me a bit anxious about what a post-Erasmus future holds for me.... 7.25