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WEDNESDAY

The French term for department store is grand magasin, and the largest of them are vast, multifarious emporiums that offer much more than you’ll find at a suburban Macy’s. Even in tradition-bound France, however, efficiency and modernization are growing issues— which is where the comedy Little Nothings begins. Mr. Lepetit (Fabrice Luchini), the new general manager of retailer Les Grandes Galeries, must institute the changes necessary to make the company profitable while keeping his workers happy. His management philosophy employs what he calls “the human factor.” This 1992 film was the directorial debut of Cédric Klapisch, whose work has often turned on the human factor. Klapisch is known for his comedies of everyday life, notably the gently charming When the Cat’s Away, the only of his nine films to be commercially released in the U.S. Despite the seeming spontaneity of Klapisch’s films, they are closely observed and carefully structured—and thus have drawn comparisons to the works of Eric Rohmer, the master of the French naturalistic comedy. At 7 p.m. at the Embassy of France’s La Maison Française, 4101 Reservoir Road NW. $5. (202) 944-6090. (Mark Jenkins)