A "critic's darling" of 1979, the modestly produced French Postcards has an appeal that goes beyond the wine and cheese crowd. Miles Chapin plays Joel, an American student in France on an exchange program. Joel's teacher, Mme. Tessier (Marie-France Pisier), is a "Miss Jean Brodie" type whose ideas of education are highly unorthodox. One of Mme. Tessier's extracurricular activities consists of a torrid romance with the impressionable Joel. Of interest to contemporary viewers are the supporting-cast appearances of future stars Debra Winger and Mandy Patinkin. The "coming-of-age" through-line of French Postcards was second nature to screenwriters Gloria Katz and Willard Hyuck, whose previous projects included American Graffiti.