The Russian Dolls (Les Poupées russes) (DVD)

Rather than your usual rom-com, Russian Dolls takes a matter-of-fact view on love, as in; it's unpleasant, difficult and creates a big mess. It centres on Xavier (a carbon copy of Seth from the OC), a just-turned-thirty French writer who spends his time scrabbling for work and trying to find himself a woman. Xavier's problem is he wants the perfect woman, so he ends up sabotaging fledgling relationships just in case something better comes along. The big idiot. His story spans several countries, gathers numerous characters (some of which featured in the film's predecessor Auberge Espagnole, which you don't need to have seen to appreciate this follow up) and delves into ...  Read the complete review

The Russian Dolls (Les Poupees Russes) is a romatic comedy directed by Cedric Klapisch. Made in 2005, it's a sequel to The Spanish Apartment (L'auberge Espagnole), I've never seen The Spanish Apartment and Russian Dolls stood well on its own. The main character Xavier (Romain Duris), is a writer who has begun a novel but instead has ended up writing trashy romantic novels and being a ghostwriter for people who can't write their own stories down. He's also in search of his "princess" a perfect girl which doesn't exist. Martine (Audrey Tautou), his ex-girlfriend brings him down to earth by describing this work as a waste of space and that it's too ...  Read the complete review