Review: 'Chinese Puzzle' Starring Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Kelly Reilly, and Cecile de France

If there's a Spanish equivalent to the films of Richard Linklater they would be Cedric Klapisch's 'Spanish Apartment' series- 2002's L'Auberge Espagnole and 2005's Russian Dolls. Equal parts charming and infuriatingly madcap, they nonetheless are impossible to resist because, darnit they are just so darn cute, earnest, and Euro in their explorations of hipster romance and professional aimlessness. Thankfully, Klapisch doesn't screw with the formula in the breezy and jazzy Chinese Puzzle, a fitting good-bye to the characters whose lives we've been following for years.

Or perhaps it's not so much a good-bye as a "see you later"? Like Linklater's Before Sunrise trilogy, there's an enduring quality to the romantic entanglements of professional adolescent Xavier (Roman Duris), who has settled into his novelist career. His love life has only gotten more complicated as he approaches midlife crisis age, and Xavier continues to excel at making things worse despite well-meaning intentions. In an effort to stay a part of his kids' lives he up and moves from Paris to New York after his wife (the returning Kelly Reilly) relocates. Culture shock abounds but Xavier gets plenty of help from a few familiar faces. Klapisch has wisely paired down the overly large cast of the prior movies to focus on a small group of favorites, and one of those coming back is Xavier's lesbian best friend, Isabelle (Cecile de France). She's shacked up with a beautiful American (the gorgeous Sandrine Holt) and they desperately want Xavier to help them have a child. Things only get more difficult when Xavier's former flame Martine (Audrey Tautou, last seen with Duris in Mood Indigo) arrives in town with her kids and old passions are rekindled, although neither cares to admit it.

Most of the humor is basic fish-out-of-water stuff as Xavier deals with the high cost of living in the big city, encounters with unfamiliar ethnicities, and women of course. The ladies in Xavier's life, of which there are many, pull him in many different directions but we also see how screwed he would be without any of them. They make him a better man, and it's a pleasure to see a film that doesn't marginalize the female characters in the least. Between Xavier's novel, imaginary conversations with long dead German philosophers, and an impromptu marriage for American citizenship, there's a lot to contend with and Klapisch sometimes gets lost in the subplots. But even if Chinese Puzzle is a little bit messy it's pretty much what these moves were always meant to be and why many will be hoping Xavier's misadventures in love aren't over yet.

 Chinese Puzzle is playing now in Washington, D.C. at the Angelika Pop-Up Theater at Union Market.

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Hereafter

Turns out the afterlife is the perfect cure for insomnia. Clint Eastwood's been struggling lately. Sounds crazy, right? This is the same guy who was an Oscar magnet behind the camera just a few years ago, but now he's something of a rut after the underwhelming Changeling and Invictus. Both films seemed weirdly out of his wheelhouse, but nothing like Hereafter does. A contemplative, spiritual examination of what we experience after we die, Hereafter is almost guaranteed to be polarizing for most folks. Those people can argue all they want about it, but a tired script, lackadaisical focus, and disinterested performances have me ready to take a nap.

Hereafter starts off with a rush. A massive tsunami crashes a resort getaway, killing hundreds of thousands of people instantly. Marie(Cecile De France), a journalist from France is caught in the tidal wave's path and struggles to survive, until ultimately suffering a crushing, fatal blow to the head. She awakens a few minutes later, but during her time on the other side she experiences foggy images of those she knew. Are they waiting for her on the other side?

George Lonegan(Matt Damon) is the man with all the answers. George has the unnatural ability to communicate with the dead. Formerly famous and wealthy, he once used his powers to help others for profit. However the gift comes with a price. Knowing everything there is to know about people has made it tough for George to get close to anybody. Relationships are a no-no. He now wastes his time in a boring, uneventful life working construction, never using his powers. Or so he says. He's not that difficult to convince, really.

Over in England, twin brothers Marcus and Jason(Frankie and George McLaren) are basically all alone in the world. Their mother is a drug addict barely keeping social services from taking the two boys away. They've come to rely solely on eachother for everything. Marcus is the mischievous chatterbox, while Jason is shy and introverted. When Marcus is suddenly killed in a horrific car accident, his mother is shuffled off to rehab, leaving Jason all alone and unable to cope.

Three stories. One massive drag. After the massive spectacle of the film's opening(not typical for an Eastwood flick), I had hope that the rest of the story would at least keep up an energetic pace. Instead it falls into a disastrous lurch, never to escape. We follow George through his wildly uninteresting life, as he worries about being layed off at his job and shoos away potential clients. Finally resolving to have something of a social life, he takes a cooking class and hooks up with a sexy classmate(Bryce Dallas Howard). That ends disastrously, but at least a few chuckles are mined out of the deal. There won't be any more, so enjoy them while you can. Fed up, George flies off to England to get away from it all, and it's here after 2 hours that the stories finally converge. Marie is writing about the afterlife based on her own experiences, and Jason is desperately seeking an actual medium who can get him in touch with his brother.

By the time these characters begin to intersect, the gloom has already taken hold. Hereafter is by far Eastwood's most lifeless film, with Damon and pretty much everybody involved droning around like zombies mumbling about how awful they've had it. George's storyline is the most disappointing, and also the most pointless. Basically this is a story about coping with death, moving on after the loss of someone integral to our lives. To not let the past destroy a chance at a fulfilling future. So what is George's purpose in the story? Is he there as a sortof walking catharsis for the other characters? Even though the dreary tone would've sabotaged any chance of this being an enjoyable experience, the focus should have been solely on everybody else and not George. They're the ones with something to learn, not him.

George's pointlessness is amplified in the film's final moments, where suddenly it turns into the most depressing romance you've ever seen. Eastwood has described Hereafter as a chick flick, "But one that men will like too. Or at least one that won't make them want to stick a Swiss Army Knife in their leg." Maybe not, but I could've used a pair of toothpicks to stop my eyelids from drooping. Do yourself a favor and don't listen to Eastwood. This is a chick flick for extremely depressed women. Women who have posters of The Virgin Suicides hanging on their wall.

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Trailer Time: Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood

I'm genuinely shocked by people acting as if Clint Eastwood's new thriller, Hereafter, is some sort of weird departure for him. While the subject of the afterlife is something he's never addressed before, or even really approached anything vaguely supernatural, Eastwood has shown a wide range of interests and directing styles. To me this looks totally like an Eastwood flick, with the possible exception of that huge tidal wave scene.

Hereafter stars Matt Damon as a regular guy with the unique ability to communicate with the dead. He crosses paths with others who have shared near death experiences, and look towards him for guidance. Eastwood has described it as "three stories of people who have had traumatic experiences in their life [...] and how these stories converge towards one another." Along for the ride in this one are Cecile De France(High Tension) and Bryce Dallas Howard(Spider-Man 3). Hereafter is set to release on October 22nd, 2010. You can check out the trailer below, followed by a synopsis.

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