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Parisian Xavier (Romain Duris) is under pressure to enter the working world. So what does the twentysomething do when he's offered the opportunity of a year's postgrad study in Barcelona? He jumps at the chance, even though it means leaving behind girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou of Amélie fame).
In Catalonia, Xavier moves into a multilingual flat filled with fellow responsibility absconders, including Brit Wendy (Kelly Reilly). Together, in a kind of pro-European This Life played for laughs, the friends learn about life and love.
Not that it's all sunshine - - there's heartbreak too, invariably announced by Radiohead playing in the background. And, because some of the characters are French, the existential angst resolves itself in unwise actions. "'Do you find me repressed?'" asks Xavier's married friend Anne-Sophie (Judith Godrèche) before shagging the boy senseless.
Familiar themes, but director and scripter Cédric Klapisch's coming-of-adulthood comedy is nonetheless heartfelt, gentle and, beyond some lapses into national stereotyping, witty.
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