If you've ever been to another country, one where you don't speak the language, you know the feeling; you know, the feeling that everyday, mundane conversation sounds exotic. That couple on the Metro in Paris is certainly discussing the works of Celine. They can't possibly be talking about the new episode of "Survivor," can they?

While "L'Auberge espagnole," the new film by writer and director Cedric Klapisch is a funny and smart comedy, the unfamiliar faces and exotic settings make it more enjoyable than an English language version with Janeane Garafolo or Mira Sorvino would be.

Twenty-five-year-old Xavier (Romain Duris) lives in Paris and is studying economics. But to get that coveted job at the government ministry where his father has a friend, Xavier is convinced that he must learn Spanish and get to know Spain and its economy. To that end, he decides to spend a year in Barcelona.

While he's happy to get away from his clingy mom for 12 months, he's more than a little sad to leave behind his girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou of "Amelie"). As soon as his plane hits the tarmac, though, he meets a pushy French doctor returning with his attractive new wife to Barcelona, where he works as a brain surgeon. When Xavier can't find an apartment, he ends up sleeping on the couple's couch.

That is until he finds the perfect flat; one inhabited by an Italian, a Dane, a Spaniard, an Englishwoman and a German. All young, all attractive, all fun. Later, they are joined by a Belgian lesbian who teaches Xavier about how to love a women. It's knowledge that will soon come in very handy for him.

They love, they live, they have fun, they have spats, but at the heart of it they are all Europeans. Maybe that's why some of them get unusually upset when the English girl starts sleeping with an American guy! (Is it coincidence that the loudmouth who manages to insult each of the Europeans in turn is the English girl's brother? One World Cup and two world wars, right?)

Xavier loves his new apartment, but his life back in Paris is crumbling. More specifically, his relationship with Martine is falling apart. On her visit, she feels uncomfortable in the apartment and criticizes the place to which Xavier has become so attached. His devotion to her is threatened and we wonder if he'll ever go back to Paris.

"L'Auberge espagnole" is Parisian slang for a "free for all" but the film doesn't really have the wild feel that the title might suggest. Really, it's more "Friends" as a thinly-veiled analogy for the European Union. Xav may arrive in Spain feeling terribly out of place, but he soon fits right in, and will return home as an open-minded, conscientious European.

There are even round-table discussions at the pub about whether university classes should be taught in Spanish or Catalan, showing that Klapisch is truly attuned to some of the major issues of European integration.

The film is fun and a pleasure to watch thanks to some quirky effects and some good performances, as well as a nice recurring Radiohead track, "No Surprises." There are also some heavy issues that get slipped into a light-hearted film without bogging things down. Admittedly, much of that will be lost on American audiences, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the film anyway.

"L'Auberge espagnole" opens Fri., June 20 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.