the spanish apartment -- a review

it is narrated from the protagonist's perspective, but it is really more than just a narrative from xavier's point of view. the spanish apartment is really about lessons learnt from putting people from 7 different nationalities in a single apartment in barcelona. come to think of it, it is perhaps more apt to call this a scripted reality television show.

anyway, along the way, we see how xavier copes with having to cope to separate from his girlfriend, martine played by audrey tatou. and we see how people gets on the nerves of others with ignorant stereotyping. even if the stereotyping was not something out of sheer malice. and above all, that the diversity of europe is represented by the english, german, italian, danish, belgian, french, spanish occupants of the apartment.

while this could be interpreted as a subtle propaganda for the advance of the european union, it could otherwise be a question of identity. xavier only decided to go to barcelona because getting acquainted with the spanish econony was his ticket to a cushy government job. when he gets to where he wanted to be, he decided to follow his heart and be a writer. he decided that he couldn't let himself down.

ditto the human race.