Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 22, 2014

Cedric Klapisch's "Chinese Puzzle" a.k.a. "Casse-tête chinoi" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; documentary film; making of featurette; music video for "If I Had My Way" (feat. Mike Ladd, Lyrics Born, Lateef). In French and English, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Xavier, you need a combination of all three of us..."

Parisian writer Xavier (Romain Duris, The Big Picture, Mood Indigo) is now a 40-year-old father, but he is still having a difficult time understanding life. He is convinced that it should be a lot easier to move from point A to point B, but for some unknown reason his life has become a total mess.

When his ex-wife Wendy (Kelly Reilly, A Single Shot, Triage) moves to New York, Xavier decides to follow her so that he is closer to their two children. His editor isn’t impressed because he wants Xavier to focus on his new book and deliver it on time.

In New York, Xavier meets his old lesbian friend Isabelle (Cecile De France, High Tension, The Kid With A Bike), who confesses to him that she desperately wants to have a baby with her partner Ju (Sandrine Holt, Resident Evil: Apocalypse). Xavier quickly agrees to help the couple and becomes a sperm donor. The grateful Ju then offers her old apartment in Chinatown to Xavier, who has been trying to find an affordable place to live.

Very soon, however, Xavier is presented with a visa problem which forces him to improvise and consider marrying an Asian girl he doesn’t know. Around the same time Xavier’s former girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou, Amélie, Therese Desqueyroux) arrives in New York for an important business meeting and decides to spend a few days with him. Both are surprised to discover that they still have feelings for each other. In the meantime, Isabelle begins an affair with her babysitter (Flore Bonaventura, TV's Chambre 327) and asks Xavier to look after the baby while the two secretly make love at his place.

The third installment in Cedric Klapisch’s "Spanish Apartment" trilogy is a funny and very witty film which undoubtedly matches the energy of the previous two films. Four of the original characters return, but the bulk of the film is dedicated to Xavier’s struggle to rebalance his life.

A great deal of the humor comes from the cultural shock Xavier experiences immediately after he arrives in America, and later on when he realizes that he can still be impulsive even though as a father he has a number of important responsibilities. Isabelle’s determination to be a good mother while enjoying an extra dose of excitement in her life also produces some hilarious moments.

There are important character transformations that frequently redirect the film. Virtually all of them are predictable but never feel tedious. Only Wendy’s behavior after her divorce with Xavier is finalized seems somewhat unconvincing.

Scattered flashbacks quickly highlight important events and relationships from the previous two films, but even without them Chinese Puzzle works very well. Indeed, virtually all of the important dilemmas the main characters face are universal.

The urban beauty of New York is beautifully captured by cinematographer Natasha Braier. Chinese Puzzle also has a rhythm that is very similar to that of the first two films in the trilogy, despite the fact that editor Francine Sandberg was replaced by Anne-Sophie Bion (Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist).

Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC an granted a 1080p transfer, Cedric Klapisch's Chinese Puzzle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal (France).

Shot with Arricam-ST/LT cameras and Cooke lenses, Chinese Puzzle looks appropriately crisp and vibrant. Image depth is especially impressive -- many of the outdoor panoramic shots from New York City look simply terrific while close-ups boast excellent clarity even when light is restricted (see screencaptures #13 and 4). There is an excellent range of warm and very natural colors (see screencapture #18). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Finally, there are absolutely no encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a wonderful presentation of Chinese Puzzle which is guaranteed to please its fans as well as viewers who are going to experience the film for the first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with large portions of English and small portions of Spanish). Also included is French Audio Descriptive DTS 2.0 track. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. (Please note that there are English subtitles only for the portions of the film where English isn't spoken).

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is terrific. Depth and clarity are outstanding. Despite the fact that the film's original sound design isn't too active there is also some good surround movement, though you should not expect to be impressed. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mes films sont des villes - documentary film with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of Chinese Puzzle in New York City. In French and English, with optional French subtitles where necessary. (53 min).

• Film annonce - original trailer for Chinese Puzzle. In French and English, with imposed French subtitles where necessary. (2 min).

• Ecrire est un casse-tete chinois - making of featurette with plenty of comments from director Cédric Klapisch (who is seen exploring New York and its ethnic neighborhoods). In French, not subtitled. (27 min).

• If I had My Way - music video for "If I Had My Way" (feat. Mike Ladd, Lyrics Born, Lateef). (3 min).

Casse-tête chinois Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I thought that the third installment in Cedric Klapisch's "Spanish Apartment" trilogy is every bit as charming, energetic and witty as the first two films. I enjoyed Chinese Puzzle a lot and would love to see one final film with the same characters in their 50s, possibly set in Paris, where Xavier's journey started. StudioCanal's technical presentation of the film is outstanding. (Currently there is no preliminary street date for a Blu-ray release of Chinese Puzzle in the U.S., but Cohen Media are in charge with its distribution and I expect to see a local release before the end of the year). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.