Auberge Espagnole, L' (The Spanish Apartment) (2002) |
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Auberge Espagnole, L' (The Spanish Apartment) (2002) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama | None | |
| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 117:03 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (66:36) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Cédric Klapisch |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Twentieth Century Fox |
Starring |
Romain Duris Judith Godrèche Audrey Tautou Cécile De France Kelly Reilly Cristina Brondo Federico D'Anna Barnaby Metschurat Kevin Bishop Xavier De Guillebon Wladimir Yordanoff Irene Montalà Javier Coromina |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music |
Ardag Loïc Dury Cyril Moisson |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired English English Icelandic Danish Finnish Norwegian Swedish |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
This is not a great example of film, and yet, somehow - it still managed to utterly beguile me.
Sort of a Big Chill for Euro X-geners, this is the story of Xavier (Romain Duris), a disillusioned French student trying to find his own path amidst the stridence of his hippy, protest-marching mother, and his cloying and demanding girlfriend. He decides to brave the bewildering red tape to join the Erasmus student cultural program which results in him finding himself on a live-in study program in Barcelona.
The film follows Xavier's adventures, from being "adopted" by a neurosurgeon Erasmus alumni and his disaffected wife, through to him finding himself in a share apartment with a disparate bunch of Euro-drifters.
Essentially, it's a little cinematic adventure in youth, self-discovery and life lessons hard-won. Although Xavier felt that his future was in the economic community, his year of sharing brings him to a closer understanding of the disparity between achieving others' expectations and the narrower path of being true to one's self.
L'Auberge Espagnole has endured some criticism for being a little bit mishmashed - and perhaps that's a fair criticism. However, I found the characters to be utterly engaging, refreshing and intelligent and I felt quite convinced about Xavier's rite of passage. In strange ways, I found it reminiscent of James A. Michener's wonderful 1971 novel, The Drifters. In similar ways, it is not derogatory of youth culture, but seeks to understand what lessons are available, and in what context. It is warm, complex, and at times, genuinely funny. It seamlessly portrays the vantage points of various cultures, and does not exhibit excessive judgementalism in the process.
It's interesting to note that this film's title has had various aliases in its global release. It has been known variously as Pot Luck, Una Casa de Locos, L'Auberge Espagnole, The Spanish Apartment, and, (my personal favourite)....Euro Pudding. To my way of thinking, the latter is the best description - it is a sticky, sweet concoction that is light, satisfying and delectable.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced.
The presentation is lovely, bright, sharp and crisp and is vivid in its rendering to disc. There is a small amount of low level noise, but not enough to seriously detract from the viewing experience, and grain levels are quite acceptable. Detail is good in highlights and sufficiently reasonable in the shadows to not be distracting.
The colour palette plays on a broad spectrum with great warmth to the skin tones without ever becoming too ruddy. Internal scenes have a warm tungsten quality to them, and external shots are well rendered and free from flaring.
Aside from relatively minor aliasing this presentation is essentially artefact free. The print is solid and stable and a pleasure to view.
Subtitles were clean, clear and accurate.
This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed at 66:36. The change is virtually imperceptible.
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The audio track available is French Dolby Digital 5.1, but there are frequent sections played out in English as well.
The dialogue was pin sharp and easy to distinguish with no audio sync issues evident.
The musical score was provided mostly by ambient music rather than predominantly produced pieces, but it remained vibrant and engaging throughout.
The use of surround sound was excellent with a surprisingly active subwoofer providing plenty of audio punch.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
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| Surround Channel Use | |
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| Overall | |
There were no extras on this disc.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on:
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on:
To my way of thinking, there is no particular advantage to the R1 so for local buyers, I'm awarding this to R4.
This is an enjoyable little film, and, when contrasted to mainstream American offerings in the portrayal of youth, it's a standout piece. It's not the most sophisticated piece of cinema you're likely to see, but it's earnest, warm and, to me, a very likeable diversion.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras |  |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Singer SGD-001, using S-Video output |
| Display | Teac 76cm Widescreen. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Teac 5.1 integrated system |
| Speakers | Teac 5.1 integrated system |