Chinese Puzzle may be my favorite of the trilogy, which starts with L’Auberge Espagnole and comes after Russian Dolls. The majority of Chinese Puzzle takes place in New York City, but not stereotypical shots of touristy New York City. We get to see Chinatown and people getting on the Fung Wah bus (RIP). We get a completely multicultural exchange at a bike messenger office. When the main character tells his friends where someone lives, near Central Park, and that he wants to live nearby, their faces say it all-you can’t afford that. I think that Chinese Puzzle-intentionally or not-uses a lot of what works in an earlier film called In America, which was set in a different time period, but also addresses parental love, including one iconic image of a father struggling with an AC through traffic plagued city streets. Cédric Klapisch enjoys revisiting certain situations-someone about to be discovered cheating, initially attempting an alternative narrative structure and eventually letting a perfect romance take over the initial plot, including practical financial concerns. Chinese Puzzle is not a must see unless you’ve seen and enjoyed the first two movies.