Independent Films, Film Profiles

L'Auberge espagnole

L'auberge espagnole (literally: The Spanish Inn), released in English speaking territories as Pot Luck is a 2002 French film directed and written by Cédric Klapisch. It is about Xavier, an Economics graduate student studying for a year in Barcelona, Spain as part of the Erasmus programme, where he encounters and learns from a group of students who hail from all over Western Europe.The title of the film literally means "the Spanish hostel", and is a French idiom for a hodgepodge of 'ingredients,' sort of like a potluck. It is also sometimes used to mean a busy, chaotic place. The English title of the film is Pot Luck in the UK and Canada; Euro Pudding is an international title it was given, and it is also known as The Spanish Apartment. In Spain, where it is set, it was released as Una casa de locos —"Madhouse".The film's portrayal is in the first-person perspective of the main character, Xavier, and is hence mainly narrated in French. Some of the dialogue is in English however, and a significant amount is in Spanish, as well as small amounts in Catalan, Danish, German and Italian.The movie has a sequel, The Russian Dolls. A third film is upcoming.The story follows Xavier, a Frenchman in his early 20's, who leaves his girlfriend and his country for the ERASMUS programme in Barcelona, a prerequisite for a job with the French government. On the flight over, he meets a young "not cool" French couple who let him stay in their flat while he searches for a place to stay. Xavier manages to find an apartment with other people from all around Europe, including England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Denmark. The group become good friends and the remainder of the movie is based on their interactions.The meaning of the story is based on Erasmus' famous essay "The Praise of Folly" which discusses the superiority of folly over conventional wisdom.