Russian Dolls (2005)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Awesome Movie

A different way of telling a story

Blistering performances.

"Les Poupées Russes" is well made, features some playful editing and inventive sequences, and is overall fairly fast-paced and entertaining. Why didn't I like it, then? Well, mostly because the main character is a complete douche-bag. This was a bit of a problem in the previous film as well, but I found it easier to forgive then, since it was less prominent and the character was young and inexperienced. This time, though...While he's supposed to have aged and gathered some experience, Xavier seems to have gotten even more indecisive and continues to treat the innumerable stunningly beautiful women in his life like crap. So you can't decide whether you want to sleep with Audrey Tautou, Kelly Reilly, or a supermodel? Boo f*cking hoo. Cry me a river, *sshole.

adventures. friendship. love/hate/words/choices/questions/meetings/a ballerina.another "L'Auberge espagnole". same Romain Duris. new versions of life lessons. in a single word, another chapter of an old story. not boring, not sensational, not interesting or strange. the image of Europe is more small. the feeling of Xavier are on top. and the result is not bad but the charm of first movie is enough. in this case, ambition to tell a profound tale is too much. complicated options, the life as storm , a nudity scene on street, in night, in desperate run, the mixture of a Russian character, the fight between past and present, all is a fragile huge construction. but the good intentions are almost perfect refuge. so, a nice movie. about friendship, love, choices, a wedding, few drops of feelings.

This is a lovely follow-up on L'Auberge espagnol. Nobody who enjoyed that should miss this. Especially if, like me, you like films that catch you up with characters you'd enjoyed before like Before Sunset/Before Sunrise. I wouldn't call this a sequel in the sense that it's a rehashing of the original film. Rather, it's a continuation or follow-up on the story. Loved it.If this sounds intriguing to you, it's great. But for the proper full effect, watch L'Auberge first.In all honesty, I now find myself saddened by the thought that M Klapisch may be done with them now. I hope that, in a few years, we get to see these old friends again. Only this time, get a better distribution company in the US. Unlike L'Auberge espagnol (which I saw at the cinema), if it weren't for Netflix, I wouldn't have known this film existed. I keep making deals with myself that I won't buy any more DVDs because we know they'll be obsolete in a few years, but here's another one I'll buy.

Continuing where L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE left off, Russian DOLLS fast-forwards five years into the future and presents us a Xavier we thought we wouldn't be seeing: the professional who has a sordid job writing bad soap opera, far from the successful novelist he had originally planned to be, his life mired in confusion and hovering immaturity. At age thirty he has had unsuccessful relationships with women -- several of them who make their re-appearances from the previous film, among them Audrey Tautou (Martine) and Irene Montalá (Neus) -- and who fate seems to be directing him towards Wendy (Kelly Reilly) who is also involved in a self-destructive affair with a controlling nobody. Along the way, he reconnects with Isabelle in a cheeky sequence that could be a male's fantasy (as it involves lots of lesbians and Durin himself dons a dress and wig), but this leads him to a botched affair with Kassia (Aïssa Maïga) and the pursuit of superficial beauty under the persona of a supermodel (Lucy Gordon). Along the way we also see Wendy's brother William (Kevin Bishop) find love and marital happiness with the Russian ballerina Natascha (Evguyenya Obraztsova), and a reunion that finds all of the original cast members together. However, this is mainly Romain Durin, Kelly Reilly, and in a lesser way, Cecile de France's movie -- a fragmented soap opera that displays the continuing adventures of these young people as they move through life and try to find relative happiness in the adult world.