L'Auberge Espagnole (2002)

Viktor Klapisch (2002)

Klapisch’s world-renowned 2002 comedy documents a year spent in Barcelona by French student Xavier (Romain Duris) as part of the Euro-friendly Erasmus programme. The film follows the struggles of Xavier as he encounters, befriends, and lives with a truly international group of students hailing from far-flung corners of Europe. Although the film is predominantly narrated in French, Klapisch successfully integrates a multiplicity of languages and dialects into his script, and as such celebrates the nuance of communication (and miscommunication!) between cultures. By depicting an overwhelmingly positive portrait of an international community in his film, Klapisch has encouraged a generation of young students to embrace the Erasmus programme. Despite the inevitable teething problems that moving to a foreign country can entail, there is an unmistakable message emanating from the film: "L’Europe, c’est possible".