Bird People

Gary Newman, an American engineer, arrives in Paris on business and checks into an airport hotel, where he abruptly quits his job, cuts ties with his wife and starts over. In the same hotel, a young chambermaid named Audrey has an experience she cannot explain, one that unsettles her life. The two cross paths, and their encounter draws together an ordinary business trip and something stranger that neither of them anticipated.

Pascale Ferran directed and co-wrote the film with Guillaume Bréaud, produced by Denis Freyd. It was her second feature, arriving eight years after Lady Chatterley. Josh Charles plays Gary, with Anaïs Demoustier as Audrey; Roschdy Zem, Taklyt Vongdara, Geoffrey Cantor and Camélia Jordana appear in supporting roles, and 62 performers are credited in all. The French production had a budget of about 7 million dollars.

Released in June 2014 and running 128 minutes, the film blends drama, romance and fantasy. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.1 from roughly 3,400 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.9 from about 104 votes, a smaller and slightly lower sample. Both point to a modest reception rather than a wide consensus.