Life is complicated.

When Wendy (Kelly Reilly), his ex-wife, decides to move to New York with their children, Xavier (Romain Duris), decides to trade the comforts of his native Paris for the cultural kaleidoscope of New York City. And it may be just what he needs to cure his writer's block and put his life back together.

First camped out in the living room of his best friend, Isabelle (Cécile de France), and her female partner (who is pregnant thanks to sperm donated by Xavier), he must find a job, an apartment, and get married to avoid deportation. And to top it all, his old flame Martine (SFFF favorite Audrey Tautou) is coming to visit...

Life keeps getting even more complicated.

Eleven years ago, filmmaker Cédric Klapisch first introduced us to Xavier and his band of merry multi-national students in the hit L’Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment). Two years later, Les Poupées Russes (Russian Dolls) checked back in to see how they were dealing with life in the adult world. Today, Chinese Puzzle brings their stories to a (temporary?) conclusion. Chinese Puzzle stands alone and you need not have seen the earlier films to appreciate this charming romantic comedy!

The question of how a person’s life is affected by the group of people surrounding him is a common theme in the films of writer/director Cédric Klapisch. Again in Chinese Puzzle, the amiable Xavier is swept up in the entanglements of lifelong friends.

Shown with Aïssa by Clément Tréhin-Lalanne

Q&A with Le Professeur Kevin Elstob follows the screening.