CHARMING
FUNNY
AND ROMANTIC
Review by John Delia
A creative romantic comedy with a nicely complicated story Chinese Puzzle turns up the heat this weekend. Connecting the two most romantic cities in the world, Paris and New York, the film lays out a story that’s fun and filled with chaos of the heart. If you are a moviegoer that craves a good love story, then this cute little indie should fill your cup of tea.
Romance never seems so confusing until you meet Xavier (Romain Duris), a man who finds himself trapped in a life that’s out of control. It must be the water in Paris as he’s about to find out what it’s like when his wife of 10 years Wendy (Kelly Reilly) informs him she wants to move to New York and take their two kids with her. The noted author gets thrown into writer’s block, he’s asked by his ex-lover turned lesbian Isabelle (Cécile De France) to donate his sperm so she can have a child with her new flame Ju (Sandrine Holt) and separation from his children is out of the question.
So Xavier does what every man would do, travel to New York and find a way to either straighten out his relationship with Wendy or find a place to open his mind to writing the novel promised to his publisher. He gets to New York and moves in temporarily with Isabelle and Ju. After some time his visa is about to expire and he gets an opportunity to marry American born Nancy (Li Jun Li) when he saves her father from a near death experience. When his ex-fiancée Martine (Audrey Tautou), now divorced, arrives in New York from Paris with her two children, the pieces of the puzzle get scattered all over the board.
The very nicely woven comedy by writer/director Cédric Klapisch gets a little slapstick, but mostly complex and that is what makes it so good. Making sure each of the pieces of the puzzle fit together he hones the edges so they will fall into place at the right time. Warning: Chinese Puzzle has a very happy ending as well it should. The merry-go-round must stop sometime, but you may get off with someone other than the person with which you got on.
The characters are delightful played by a cast of French, Belgian and English pros who know how to turn a head and pop and eye. Romain Duris gets put to the test as Xavier who finds himself in a whirlwind life on the edge with women taking a piece of him at every turn. He builds his character quickly showing his many sides including love of his children, doubts about relationships, emotional bonding, caring and even anger when defied. He’s a cast centerpiece giving his female stars a chance to bounce their characters off of him and each other.
The girls are gorgeous and refreshing pieces of work who light up the screen with their energy. Well known for their talent in some of France’s best releases Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel) and Cécile De France (A Secret) are enchanting with their sensuous performances that turns up the heat in this romance gone wild affair. While Tautou has the job of putting life back into Xavier, and she does in so many ways, it’s De France who blows the top off the thermometer during a lesbian encounter with her babysitter.
The bright Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes 1&2) had probably the hardest task of all. She has to portray a woman who has to make a decision of leaving Xavier for another man. I am not overly confident that she pulls it off, but it’s still a nice job of acting on her part. I would have liked to see more reasons for the separation in light of the fact that they have two children together, but after 10 years of marriage and with Xavier fighting writer’s block it was the author’s choice as enough to cause a split.
Chinese Puzzle has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language, sex, nudity and a scene of New York cab driver violence. The film is shown in the French language mixed with English and has easy to read English subtitles. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Light and airy, this little gem shows best for the ladies. (B-)
Additional Film Information:
- Cast: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile De France, Kelly Reilly, Sandrine Holt,
- Written and directed by: Cédric Klapisch
- Genre: Romance, Comedy, Foreign
- MPAA Rating: Unrated, contains language, sex, nudity
- Running Time: 1 hour 47 min
- Release Date: May 30, 2014
- Distributed by: Cohen Media Group