Chinese Puzzle

Now, “Chinese Puzzle,” what an interesting flick. Cédric Klapisch directs this film, and you’ve got the brilliant Romain Duris playing Xavier. You know Xavier, the guy who somehow manages to have his life more tangled than a plate of Swedish spaghetti. He’s been a busy bee since “L’Auberge Espagnole,” with kids on the way and women all over the place. Kristin Scott Thomas makes an appearance too, brilliant as ever, adding her usual sparkle to the chaos of Xavier’s world.

So, the film’s all about a man confronting the messiness of life in New York. Reminds me a bit of the time I tried moving to Stockholm – turns out, life remains stubbornly complicated no matter what city you’re in. There’s this one scene where Xavier’s juggling what feels like a thousand things at once, and I half-expected someone to start singing “Helan Går” in the background, because that kind of chaos? Feels a bit like a Swedish family gathering.

There’s humor here, definitely enough to provoke a chuckle. It dances on the line between heartfelt and sitcom-cliché, which isn’t a bad thing, really. Some bits seemed overly dramatic, perhaps, like they were a smorgasbord of story ideas cherry-picked by Klapisch. But, that’s life, right? Messy, unpredictable, and never just one thing.

Yet I reckon, while the characters felt familiar, they also sometimes seemed just…off. Like, Caroline’s not really figuring out her next move, and you’re left wondering why these smart folks make such odd choices. Maybe Klapisch just wanted us to see life’s absurdity through a magnifying glass.

A real mixed bag, maybe not everyone’s cup of coffee, but worth a look. Who knows, it might remind you of a little Swedish chaos.

Check the trailer below