“L’Auberge Espagnol” (“The Spanish Apartment”)
Fox Searchlight
Rated R
In French with English subtitles
Opens Friday at the Broadway
(out of four)

“L’Auberge Espangol” is a messy but charming account of finding oneself in a new world. A young Frenchman named Xavier (Romain Duris) goes to college in Spain to study economics, but finds himself swept away more by the environment than his dull studies. After some confusion, he ends up sharing a large apartment with a colorful assortment of students of different nationalities—Danish, German, Italian, Spanish, English and Belgian. One nice detail is the chart on the wall by the telephone detailing how to say that a person isn’t home in every language.

The film was nominated for six Césars (French Oscars), although writer/director Cedric Klapisch isn’t quite as successful as this would leave you to believe. There are, however, plenty of amusing details and one very funny split-screen sequence involving everyone running to the apartment in an effort to save their roommate from being caught cheating.

Xavier has to deal with his own conflicts involving his girlfriend back in Paris (Audrey Tautou from “Amelie”) and deal with personal hesitation regarding his future career. While these aren’t played out as well as they could be, it’s done well enough for a satisfying payoff and an accurate depiction of confused youths.

“Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle”
(out of four)
(See review)

“The Man Without a Past”
Sony Picture Classics
Rated PG-13
In Finnish with English subtitles
Opens Friday at the Tower
(not reviewed)

Aki Kaurismäki’s “The Man Without a Past,” the middle film of his “Finnish Trilogy,” is reportedly a droll comedy about a man who arrives in Helsinki with amnesia and meets a variety of odd characters. The film won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, but not the Palm d’Or, which some critics felt it should have received over “The Pianist.” See it and decide for yourself.

“Whale Rider”
(out of four)
(See review)