Chinese Puzzle

Chinese Puzzle (Casse-Tête Chinois, 2013) is Cédric Klapisch's warm romantic comedy, ready to watch online on iFILM. Xavier is forty now, freshly divorced, and his English ex-wife Wendy has taken their two kids to New York. Chasing them across the ocean to a loud, unfamiliar city sounds insane — so of course he does it.

This third visit with Romain Duris's restless hero drops the whole gang into the immigrant churn of Chinatown. Xavier hunts for an apartment, lines up a green-card marriage of convenience, and tries to stay a full-time dad in a country that keeps tripping him up. Cécile de France returns as Isabelle, whose lesbian couple asks him to be their sperm donor; Audrey Tautou plays old flame Martine, with Kelly Reilly back as Wendy. Lawyers, a Chinese nanny, a bike instead of a car and constant money trouble pile on fast.

Klapisch closes the coming-of-age trilogy he began with L'Auberge Espagnole and Russian Dolls — same voiceover stream of thought, same light touch, but now the mess is about responsibility for others, not just himself. It lands best if you've followed Xavier through both earlier films. Stream Chinese Puzzle (2013) online on iFILM.