It's probably a testament to the popularity of French cinema that despite being lured away by Hollywood, many of the more popular French stars return on a regular basis to make films in their native country. And Audrey Tautou is no exception.

This is her second feature for director Pierre Salvadori, with whom she made 2006's sparkling Priceless with. Thankfully this reunion doesn't disappoint either.

Some things are just better said in a letter. Not an email mind, but a proper pen to paper missive. That's what Jean (Sami Bouajila) thinks anyway. He has feelings for his boss, hair salon owner Émilie (Tautou). He decides to let her know how he feels in a letter, except he takes the coward's way out by making it anonymous.

Unfortunately for Jean, Émilie takes very little notice of his work, and thinks nothing of it. Things take a turn for the worse in their relationship when she discovers, quite by accident, that Jean isn't all that he seems. She employs him has a general handyman for around the salon, but it transpires that he used to be a bigwig translator for UNESCO. Knowing that he used to be in a position of some prominence complicates things for her; she just wants a simple handyman to do the jobs, and not have a Harvard schooled brainiac on her team.

As if having awkwardness at home wasn't enough, Émilie's relationship with her mother (Nathalie Baye) is strained. Although her father left her four years ago, her mother still believes that he's going to walk in through her door any day now. He isn't. Émilie believes that her mother just wants to be loved, so she decides to copy out the anonymous love letter that she received and send it to her mother.

As luck would have it, her mother responds, with the letter giving her a whole new lease of life. But she's not happy with just the one letter, so Émilie decides to write more.

To get Jean out of her sight, she sends him on errands, including sending out the post. Unbeknownst to her, Jean sees that one of the letters is local, and decides to post it by hand. It turns out that it was the love letter to her mother, and she notices him when he delivers it. Émilie's mother is now under the illusion that Jean is actually in love with her, which only complicates matters. And with some misguided help from Émilie, the situation only gets worse.

Sacre bleu! They've charged me for the sports package again! Morons.

What Tautou and Salvadori have created here is a delightful comedy of errors. It's essentially a three-handed set up between the characters Émilie, her mother and Jean, as their relationships awkwardly criss-cross back and forth between one another.

Instead of resorting to farce, Salvadori balances the weight between humour and the emotional baggage of each character perfectly. The comedy never comes at the expense of the characters themselves, but from the situation they all find themselves in.

It's a great role for Tautou as she is almost the love interest in the film by default. For the majority of the time her character is treating Jean quite badly, while she concentrates all of her efforts into making her mother happy.

She doesn't have to carry the entire film on her shoulders either, as both Boujila and Baye ably support her with strong performances of their own.

It may feel a little old fashioned in its theme, but it's executed with such charm and warmth that you don't even notice it. It's a lovely tale that at its heart is all about amour.

The director could have easily glammed up his leading lady to the hilt, as he did so well with her in Priceless; instead he gives her a down to earth, boyish look, to compliment her quirky behaviour.

It's also beautifully shot, probably more so than necessary for what it is, making it a complete joy to watch, no word of a lie.