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Review

Xavier is a young Parisian grad student in economics who decides to spend a year in Spain in the Erasmus exchange program, making Dad happy and furthering his career plans at the same time. But his real education takes place in the Barcelona apartment he shares with seven other students from all over Europe. They share myriad tribulations: acclimation to an alien environment, academic pressures, traumatic personal relationships, language barriers, exorbitant apartment rental fees, electrical blackouts, enraged landlords — the everyday problems that cross all national boundaries. Director Klapisch makes full and inventive use of the medium to capture the natural exuberance of the standard twenty-something and the frenzied shock of total immersion into a foreign culture. A very personable ensemble delivers surprisingly developed and involving portrayals, with special mention to Duris as the focal point Xavier. Amid all this are reflections on the new European identity, the possibility of a merged consciousness from many individual elements, and questions regarding nationalism vs. a pan-European ethic. Engaging, recognizable characters in a well-paced, multilayered narrative combine to deliver refreshingly intelligent entertainment. (French and Spanish with English subtitles)

 -- Ann Yarabinee