ABSTRACT
This chapter examines post-2008 European films that depict immigration and its attendant precarity: Spanish director Jorge Torregrossa's Una vida inesperada (2013) and French director Cédric Klapisch's Casse-tête chinois (2013). Both films are examples of multinational collaborations—due to the budget cuts in the film industry—that resonate with the European brain drain. Despite the fact that both films hail from countries that experienced disparate consequences of the 2008 economic crisis, these two directors employ comedy that creates a façade of stability to assuage viewers' preoccupations. Xavier—the protagonist of Casse-tête chinois—and Juan—the protagonist of La vida inesperada—project an internalized sense of imperialism toward non-Europeans to bolster their own financial or psychological security. Additionally, each film presents heteronormative relationships as a convenient solution to each character's problems. However, these films diverge in their conclusions; the European immigrant in the French film relies on societal structures that reinforce a precarious existence for Chinese immigrants. In contrast to Xavier, Juan chooses to integrate into his adopted country and culture. These conclusions take on problematic meanings if we consider France's and Spain's relative positions in the post-2008 economy.
