The Russian Dolls
Encyclopedia
The Russian Dolls is a 2005 French-British film, the sequel to L'Auberge espagnole (2002). Cédric Klapisch
wrote and directed the film, whose settings include Paris
, London
, Saint Petersburg
and Moscow
. Klapisch makes use of digital and split-screen effects in the film, as well as non-linear narrative.
for celebrities who can't write their own biographies. Martine criticizes his pulp novel work as being unrealistic and corny. Xavier feels just the same about this, but only replies to her that he earns good money. In Paris, Xavier has a brief affair with Kassia, a sales clerk from Senegal. When Xavier's grandfather asks about Xavier's fiancée, he asks his lesbian friend Isabelle (L'Auberge Espagnole) to pose as his fiancée.
In Paris, Xavier runs into Wendy (L'Auberge Espagnole), who herself has become an accomplished television writer. She is currently involved in an unhealthy relationship. Later, a TV show assignment takes Xavier to London where he had requested to work with Wendy. In his other job Xavier is given the chance to ghost write a biography of Celia, a model. On one of his visits Xavier and Celia kiss and make love while looking at the boats on the River Seine. In time Xavier and Wendy's attraction to each other becomes a physical relationship. Xavier and Wendy's boyfriend fight, and he throws her prior boyfriend out.
Wendy's brother William has fallen in love with Natasha, a Russian ballerina. He learns Russian for a year to try to win her, succeeding, he moves to Saint Petersburg. Xavier and Wendy go to Russia at one point to stay with William and Natasha. Xavier and Wendy's relationship is going perfectly, until Celia calls Xavier to come and visit her, as she is staying in Moscow. Xavier goes to visit Celia, telling Wendy that he has to see the publishers in Moscow and that it is unavoidable. Xavier does not know that Wendy had looked at his cellphone, and saw that the number is not his publisher's, but in fact another woman's. Saying goodbye at the train station Wendy lays her true feelings on the line. Xavier, stunned, doesn't move and stays on the train as Wendy walks away crying.
In Moscow, Celia and Xavier meet up and make love again but do not actually consummate their attraction. At one point in a club she asks Xavier to get her a glass of milk but then reluctantly leaves when she sees some old friends. Failing to connect that night via cell phone Xavier and Celia never meet again. Celia represents the perfect girl, the princess, the street of ideal proportions, the impossible dream girl Xavier has been seeking his whole life. Yet his is also aware that like the Street of Ideal proportions, she is ultimately uninteresting. Subsequently he returns to St. Petersburg but now Wendy, convinced that he had an affair whilst in Moscow, avoids him.
At the end of the film, William and Natasha are married in front of family members and characters seen in L'Auberge Espagnole. Wendy's divorced parents begin to squabble on the cruise ship during the reception. Wendy has avoided Xavier in the time leading up to the wedding, but she is unhappy at seeing her parents arguing. Xavier comforts her and apologies for his past behaviour. The film ends with Xavier and Wendy embracing.
. The tracklist is as follows:
Cédric Klapisch
Cédric Klapisch , is a French film director.Klapisch was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to Auschwitz. He studied cinema at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle as well as at the University of Paris VIII...
wrote and directed the film, whose settings include Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Klapisch makes use of digital and split-screen effects in the film, as well as non-linear narrative.
Plot
The film begins with friends from L'Auberge espagnole in Saint Petersburg for the wedding of Wendy's brother William. Xavier begins to reminisce about the past several years. He and Martine split up, and Martine has had a child and become a committed environmental activist. For financial reasons, Xavier becomes a writer for pulp romantic novels and a ghostwriterGhostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for celebrities who can't write their own biographies. Martine criticizes his pulp novel work as being unrealistic and corny. Xavier feels just the same about this, but only replies to her that he earns good money. In Paris, Xavier has a brief affair with Kassia, a sales clerk from Senegal. When Xavier's grandfather asks about Xavier's fiancée, he asks his lesbian friend Isabelle (L'Auberge Espagnole) to pose as his fiancée.
In Paris, Xavier runs into Wendy (L'Auberge Espagnole), who herself has become an accomplished television writer. She is currently involved in an unhealthy relationship. Later, a TV show assignment takes Xavier to London where he had requested to work with Wendy. In his other job Xavier is given the chance to ghost write a biography of Celia, a model. On one of his visits Xavier and Celia kiss and make love while looking at the boats on the River Seine. In time Xavier and Wendy's attraction to each other becomes a physical relationship. Xavier and Wendy's boyfriend fight, and he throws her prior boyfriend out.
Wendy's brother William has fallen in love with Natasha, a Russian ballerina. He learns Russian for a year to try to win her, succeeding, he moves to Saint Petersburg. Xavier and Wendy go to Russia at one point to stay with William and Natasha. Xavier and Wendy's relationship is going perfectly, until Celia calls Xavier to come and visit her, as she is staying in Moscow. Xavier goes to visit Celia, telling Wendy that he has to see the publishers in Moscow and that it is unavoidable. Xavier does not know that Wendy had looked at his cellphone, and saw that the number is not his publisher's, but in fact another woman's. Saying goodbye at the train station Wendy lays her true feelings on the line. Xavier, stunned, doesn't move and stays on the train as Wendy walks away crying.
In Moscow, Celia and Xavier meet up and make love again but do not actually consummate their attraction. At one point in a club she asks Xavier to get her a glass of milk but then reluctantly leaves when she sees some old friends. Failing to connect that night via cell phone Xavier and Celia never meet again. Celia represents the perfect girl, the princess, the street of ideal proportions, the impossible dream girl Xavier has been seeking his whole life. Yet his is also aware that like the Street of Ideal proportions, she is ultimately uninteresting. Subsequently he returns to St. Petersburg but now Wendy, convinced that he had an affair whilst in Moscow, avoids him.
At the end of the film, William and Natasha are married in front of family members and characters seen in L'Auberge Espagnole. Wendy's divorced parents begin to squabble on the cruise ship during the reception. Wendy has avoided Xavier in the time leading up to the wedding, but she is unhappy at seeing her parents arguing. Xavier comforts her and apologies for his past behaviour. The film ends with Xavier and Wendy embracing.
Cast
- Romain DurisRomain Duris-Life:Born on 28 May 1974 in Paris, son of an engineer-architect father, Duris studied arts at university. He was noticed in the street by a casting director whilst waiting in a queue in 1993 and offered a part in the 1994 Cédric Klapisch film Le péril jeune...
as Xavier - Audrey TautouAudrey TautouAudrey Justine Tautou is a French model and film actress, best known for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Sophie Neveu in the 2006 thriller The Da Vinci Code, Irène in Priceless and Coco Chanel in Coco avant Chanel...
as Martine - Cécile de FranceCécile de FranceCécile de France is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as L'Art de la séduction and Irène , she gained international attention for her lead role in Haute Tension and Hereafter .- Career :Born in Namur, she left Belgium at the age of 17 to go to Paris where she...
as Isabelle - Kelly Reilly as Wendy
- Kevin BishopKevin BishopKevin Bishop is an English actor and comedian, best known for his own programme, The Kevin Bishop Show, which he co-writes with Lee Hupfield, and the role of Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island.-Life and career:...
as William - Lucy GordonLucy Gordon (actress)Lucy Gordon was a British actress and model. She became a face of CoverGirl in 1997 before starting an acting career. Her first film was Perfume in 2001 before going on to have small roles in Spider-Man 3, Serendipity and The Four Feathers...
as Celia Shelburn - Aïssa MaïgaAïssa MaïgaAïssa Maïga is a Senegal-born French actress. She was nominated for the Most Promising Actress at the 2007 César Award for her acting in Bamako.-Filmography:# L'avocat # L'aide au retour # Diamant 13...
as Kassia - Evgenia ObraztsovaEvgenia ObraztsovaEvgenia Obraztsova , is a Russian ballerina who dances as First Soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. She is frequently invited as a guest soloist to other countries, and is known for dancing leading roles in ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Ondine, Giselle, and La Sylphide...
as Natasha - Irene Montalà as Neus
- Gary LoveGary LoveGary Love is a British actor and film director. He is best known for playing the role of Sergeant Tony Wilton in the award winning series Soldier Soldier....
as Edward - Martine Demaret as Xavier's Mother
- Pierre Cassignard as Platane
- Olivier Saladin as Gérard
- Pierre Gérald as Xavier's Grandfather
- Zinedine SoualemZinedine SoualemZinedine Soualem is an award-winning French film actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch.-Selected filmography:* JCVD * The Names of Love * Nothing to Declare...
as M. Boubaker - Hélène Médigue as Madame Vanpeteguem
- Carole Franck as TV Producer
- Robert Plagnol as TV Writer
- Nicolas Briançon as TV Director
- Nina Bonherry as a ballerina
- Florence d'Azémar as Isabelle's friend
Nominated
- Chlotrudis Awards
- Best Cast
- César Awards
- Best Editing (Francine Sandberg)
- Best Actress – Supporting Role (Kelly Reilly)
Soundtrack
Original film score composed by Loïk Dury and Laurent LevesqueLaurent Levesque
Laurent Levesque is a film score composer. He started the piano at 4 and graduated at 17 from the french national music school academy with 5 first prizes....
. The tracklist is as follows:
- Da GrassRootsDa GrassrootsDa Grassroots are a Canadian hip-hop production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mr. Attic, Mr. Murray, and Swiff. The Juno Award-winning group contributed to the development of Toronto hip hop throughout the 1990s, highlighted by the release of their debut album Passage Through Time in...
- "Démesure des mesures" - Da GrassRootsDa GrassrootsDa Grassroots are a Canadian hip-hop production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mr. Attic, Mr. Murray, and Swiff. The Juno Award-winning group contributed to the development of Toronto hip hop throughout the 1990s, highlighted by the release of their debut album Passage Through Time in...
- "Body Language" - Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "En vrak" - Olivier Montel - "Disco King"
- Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "Xavier la Fronde" - El Fudge - "One Fudge"
- Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "La Ballade de Neus" - Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "Celia's Kiss" - Boban MarkovicBoban MarkovicBoban Marković is a Serbian Romani trumpet player and brass ensemble leader from Vladičin Han, frequently recognized as the greatest trumpet player to emerge from the Balkans...
- "Ivzorski biseri" - Beth GibbonsBeth GibbonsBeth Gibbons is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist for the iconic British band Portishead.-Early life:...
- "Mysteries" - Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "C koi ce bordel" - Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "Poupées Russes" - SpleenSpleenThe spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
- "Bitches on the Ground" - Kraked UnitKraked UnitKraked Unit is a French based music production company founded in 2000 by french composer and DJ Loïc Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers....
- "La Reine des Queens" - Track Addicts - "Dutchy"