FRA
2001
1hr 20mins
Dir: Bruno Chiche
Starring: Fabrice Luchini and Nathalie Baye
A philandering Frenchman ends up on the Orient-Express with his wife and two lovers for company
This French romantic comedy centres around Barnie, an office worker who lives in Calais but works in London. He commutes every day by taking the Eurostar to go to his office. Although he is married, he has two lovers in London: Margot, a young and fresh advertising executive (played by Marie Gillain), and Mark, a hot 35 years old auctioneer (played by Hugo Speer). They each buy him the same present for his birthday, a ticket for a trip on the VSOE. There is an opening scene filmed at London Waterloo and a couple of Class 373 ‘Eurostar’ EMU sets are visible in the International platforms. No other scenes were filmed in the station, and apart from a couple of brief shots filmed onboard a ‘Eurostar’ set, no other UK trains feature either, though there are some excellent Continental shots of the VSOE. The French title ‘Barnie et ses petites contrariétés’ translates as ‘Barnie and his little annoyances’ though the film had the International Title of ‘Barnie’s Minor Annoyances’.
