At FIAF, you can view a smart new French film -- CHINESE PUZZLE -- three weeks before release

One of our favorite French filmmakers, Cédric Klapisch, shown below, is back in town with the third in the trilogy that began with L'Auberge Espagnole, continued with Russian Dolls, and now finds his characters -- including those played by Romain Duris (at right, above and below) and Audrey Tautou (above, left, and bottom, right) -- at the 40-years-old mark in his newest chapter, CHINESE PUZZLE (Casse-tête chinois).

In some ways, Klapisch's trilogy is not unlike the "Before" series of Richard Linklater -- but French, rather than American; with only twelve instead of 18 years between first and third chapters; and a larger cast of main characters. I'll have a lot more to say about this film in the review I'll post during the week of its theatrical release (May 16); for now, I'll just mention that it's every bit as good as the earlier two -- maybe better -- and a wonderful addition to the story of Xavier Rousseau (played by M. Duris) and how he and his friends have grown and changed over the dozen years since this trilogy began.

The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York’s premiere French cultural center, has scheduled a screening of both Chinese Puzzle and L'Auberge Espagnole this coming Tuesday, April 22, and is also thrilled to welcome director Klapisch and actors Duris and Pablo Mugnier-Jacob (above, center) for a special CinéSalon Sneak Preview of the new film (as well as one of the old ones). Chinese Puzzle, running 117 minutes, screens Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30pm in FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall, with L'Auberge Espagnole, 122 minutes, screening earlier at 4pm in the same venue.

For those who want to get a jump on critics and audiences, go to the FIAF site and reserve your tickets for Chinese Puzzle and the Q&A with filmmaker and actors by clicking  here -- and/or for L'Auberge Espagnole by clicking here. You can get directions to (and other info on) FIAF by clicking here.