French Postcards
French Postcards is a 1979 romantic-comedy film starring Miles Chapin, Blanche Baker, David Marshall Grant, Valérie Quennessen, Debra Winger, Mandy Patinkin, Marie-France Pisier and Jean Rochefort about a group of American exchange students who spend a year studying in Paris. Madame Catherine Tessier (Marie-France Pisier), who with her husband, Monsieur Tessier (Jean Rochefort), directs and teaches at "The Institute", takes special interest in Alex (David Marshall Grant), whose ambition is to experience Parisian life; Madame Tessier's interest extends beyond the classroom and into her bedroom. Debra Winger and Mandy Patinkin co-star in this comic, coming-of-age tale co-written by American Graffiti screenwriters Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, who also directs.
| French Postcards | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover for the film | |
| Directed by | Willard Huyck |
| Produced by | Gloria Katz |
| Written by | Willard Huyck Gloria Katz |
| Starring | Miles Chapin Blanche Baker David Marshall Grant Valérie Quennessen Debra Winger Mandy Patinkin Marie-France Pisier Jean Rochefort |
| Music by | Lee Holdridge |
| Cinematography | Bruno Nuytten |
| Edited by | Carol Littleton |
Production company | NF Geria II Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States France West Germany |
| Language | English |
Plot
The story line primarily follows three American students as they feel their ways through a year of studies at The Institute in Paris: Laura (Blanche Baker), who ostensibly narrates the goings-on of the film with the postcards she sends to her boyfriend back home; Alex (David Marshall Grant), whose interests aren't so much in studying but with love and life in Paris; and Joel (Miles Chapin), who can't quite seem to live with the courage of his convictions. Alex becomes ensnared in a tryst with his instructor (and the Institute's co-director Madam Tessier (Marie-France Pisier), and Joel falls in love with Toni (Valérie Quennessen), a local bookstore employee. American students were used as extras in the movie.
Cast
- Miles Chapin as Joel
- Blanche Baker as Laura
- David Marshall Grant as Alex
- Valérie Quennessen as Toni
- Debra Winger as Melanie
- Mandy Patinkin as Sayyid
- Marie-France Pisier as Madame Catherine Tessier
- Jean Rochefort as Monsieur Tessier
- Lynn Carlin as Mrs. Weber
- George Coe as Mr. Weber
- Christophe Bourseiller as Pascal
- Francois Lalande as Monsieur Levert
- Anémone as Christine
- Veronique Jannot as Malsy
- Marie-Anne Chazel as Cecile
- Laurence Ligneres as Madame Levert
- Andre Penvern as Jean-Louis