Casse-tête chinois (2013) Reviews

• global generation

  Emily5842013-10-15

  I haven't seen the two previous movies by the same director and actors preceding this one, but all by itself I loved this one. It is funny, witty, interesting and unusual. I understand the previous two movies portrayed the lives of characters at an earlier age. Now they are around 40 years of age, they are in NYC and they have different set of problems. I participated in a Q&A with the director at the end of the movie and I understand what he is trying to portray is a generation of people who are more mobile, who aren't afraid of mixing with different cultures, live in different countries, deal with the challenges presented by this new country. Movie has a very very positive, upbeat look at things. And it is very refreshing to have this positive outlook considering how many movies feeds of drama and difficulties almost to a degree, which makes them unrealistic. Life is not so bad and things don't go that bad in real life. You might get lucky at things. This movie has a positive, realistic look at life. I could easily relate to it. Loved it, highly recommend it. Especially if you want to laugh a bit and feel good about life. And there is nothing wrong with that.

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• Great movie with all the humor and lightness of the 2 first

  cipnrkorvo2014-01-31

  It's great even if you haven't seen the 2 first movies! But if you have, know that it brings you the same kind of lightness and fun. Makes you want to enjoy life to the fullest! Each character is perfectly built up, and you get attached to all of them (I feel like I know them personally and would happily move in with them!) Of course, this movie builds up on the story that started 20 years earlier, so it's great to see how each of these people evolved, how life changes, and how it's still linked to the past. It's hard not to fall in love with these people! Each of the 3 movies happens in a totally different place. So let yourself be carried away!

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• Funny, feel good French movie with a bit of a Hollywood romcom touch

  Peridot2013-12-11

  * Warning: Spoilers. Also, I went and saw this film without first having seen the trailer. I recommend you not watch the trailer before you see this film if you don't want to know anything. * First of all, I think the title of the film is genius. Literally, it means Chinese "broken head" which is translated into "Chinese Puzzle", ie it's a puzzle that drives you so crazy it breaks your head. It is obvious they wanted to keep the theme of having an adjective related to a country/culture - Spanish youth hostel, Russian dolls, Chinese puzzle... The only difference is this time no part of the film is set in China. If you google "casse tête chinois" it's one of those wooden puzzles where all the pieces have to fit together in the right way and in the right order. Xavier (Romain Duris), now 40, says his life is a mess and he wonders how he got to this point, where the pieces are obviously NOT in the right order nor in the right place. He recounts his touching, funny and personal story over the past few years through Skype interviews with his book publisher (he is writing a book based on his life). I have seen the first two films but it has been so long ago that I cannot remember the story lines. It is not necessary IMHO to have seen them but it would help you have a deeper understanding of the main characters and their development. Fans of either the first two films will be delighted to see the actresses Audrey Tautou, Cécile De France and Kelly Reilly reprise their roles as Martine, Isabelle and Wendy. I felt that maybe the director (Cédric Klapisch) wanted to capitalize on the success and popularity of Audrey Tautou with foreigners by putting her in the film as much as possible. In the first few minutes of the film the protagonist mentions going from point A to point B in life. What I feel is that life is so easy in your 20s (their ages in the first film) where everybody starts at the same point, at point A. In your 30s people's lives tend to go down different paths, marriages, singledom, divorces, kids or no kids, gay/lesbianism, there is no one set path and nobody can predict what will happen in your life from your late 20s onwards. I guess the film is trying to show that it's OK not to have a 'perfect' life and that there are happy relationships of all different kinds. Apart from the main topic of romantic relationships, the film also briefly touches on parent-child relationships and features Xavier's children but also his parents in 2 short separate scenes. I don't feel that these scenes would have been missed if taken out but I am glad they were in there because when you get to the age where you have kids or 'should be' having kids you think about your own parents a lot, their relationship with each other and to you. The scene with his father was really sweet but I won't give it away what it was. And so, Xavier is now married to Wendy (and has been for the past 10 years) and has 2 children with her. Their relationship is on the rocks and one day Wendy announces she has met a new man in New York and wants to move there, immediately, with the children. Xavier, therefore, has no choice but to give up his life in Paris and to join them in New York to stay in regular contact with his young children. This brings up a whole new set of problems for him such as finding housing, slight language issues, finding a job, how to stay in the country legally for a long period of time... as someone who has moved overseas (several times) I found this aspect highly interesting and it shows the young people these days, are more than ever, globally mobile and willing to overcome hardships and obstacles in an effort to start a new life elsewhere. There are many new characters and actors introduced into this third film of the trilogy and together they create an interesting patchwork for the plot. There are also many Chinese (Chinese American) characters in this film and Chinatown is featured often too, strengthening the multiple meanings behind the title. There is also a hilarious scene where Audrey speaks Chinese. I won't go on much further other than to say that it's a much see! 10/10 for me. If you enjoyed the previous two in the series, or enjoy films that you can really relate to, full of funny, sweet and poignant moments, this is definitely one not to miss.

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• Humorous romance, young/adult comedy

  facebook-56-6264472014-07-18

  It's very watchable and, at 7/10, a definite, must watch for people who like gentle human comedy. It loses on an 8+ score from being slightly disjointed. For those that have seen the previous movies this will definitely be an 8+, though ... For starters, Audrey Tautou finally appears for more than 5 minutes. Raomin is, at last, not cast as a brainlessly immature asshole - even though he remains a zanily unpredictable persona. Jill, erm Kelly, actually comes across as if she almost finally grew up. And Ju is as adorable as ever as the eternal mother figure. Humorous sarcasm aside, this film has all the qualities of its predecessors in being utterly human in its portrayals of the characters and wittily, if somewhat cynically, insightful in its portrayal of their circumstances. If you want to watch a film that makes you more inclined to like humanity than to hate it, then you will smile your way through this one.

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• A witty charmer of a movie

  cinematic_aficionado2014-07-10

  Your partner leaves you after she found new love in a far away land. You want to be close to your children so you relocate and become prepared to take any crappy job and live in any type of shithole in order to get by. Sounds complicated? In case the above is not an intricate enough, you become a sperm donor to help a same sex couple have a child. In the midst of all this, an old flame comes into town but how can you think about romance? Then again why not? After all, our character does not lead a complicated life, he just...lives. Incredibly witty with a mixture of European/American sense of humour, it provides a refreshing angle to life itself and how it keeps going with its ups and downs.

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