Buffet froid
- 1979
- Tous publics
- 1h 33m
Alphonse lives in an empty building. Empty but for one neighbour, the police captain Morvandieu. When the man who has killed Alphonse's wife appears, the three men will be thrown in a series... Read allAlphonse lives in an empty building. Empty but for one neighbour, the police captain Morvandieu. When the man who has killed Alphonse's wife appears, the three men will be thrown in a series of events in a surrealist world.Alphonse lives in an empty building. Empty but for one neighbour, the police captain Morvandieu. When the man who has killed Alphonse's wife appears, the three men will be thrown in a series of events in a surrealist world.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Le toubib
- (as Bernard Crommbey)
- …
- Insp. Cavana
- (as Eric Wasberg)
- Le quidam
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The film starts with a ten minute scene that takes place in a Paris subway station. Two characters entertain a dialogue that could be extracted from 'En attendant Godot'. It's about the dreams, or better said the nightmares that haunt one of them (played by Gérard Depardieu). In the dream he is a wanted assassin, followed but never caught by the police. Does the dream start here? Or maybe we are in a dream in the beginning, as Parisians know, the La Defense subway station is never completely empty, not even at night. Further action includes corpses, fast consoled widows, car chases, assassination attempts through music, wine bottles and canned food. Nothing makes too much sense. The characters act like robots that do a lousy job, both socially and emotionally.
The film has an interesting aesthetics, even if too obviously programmatic. Dialogues are fun, even if they seem a little retro nowadays. Existentialism and absurd theater need landmarks to be appreciated and enjoyed all the way. These are missing in this movie, which looks more like an absurd theater show filmed in the '70s. As a spectator I can not fail to appreciate the acting performances of Depardieu, Bernard Blier, and others, but I would have preferred them to be used for better causes.
It also takes a special kind of quality to make anything completely remote and arbitrary funny. This film achieves that. It's quite hilarious at times because it's so fresh, and random and unexpected although it's utterly consistent with itself.
Depardieu is awesome as always and more than any other buys into the shenanigans of the concept brilliantly, it's like he's a real life person although his entire character is most perfectly ridiculous and impossible.
There are fine symbolic psychological traits that bring about some kind of aesthetic to the film (Blier's character and his aversion for music). Moreover, the completely barren urban landscapes, seemingly perpetually nocturnal, (that vacant building) and the eerie absence of anyone but the protagonists during any one scene bring this nightmarish facet to the whole which adds to the comic absurdism. It's like they're all alone in their strange old little planet, and it doesn't seem to bother them in the slightest.
Top notch. Also, the pacing and format are just right. At under 1hr30 this is pure efficient cinema that delivers the goods and don't spoil that fine taste from the beginning. Ending is on par with the rest of it. Very well done. Rare quality. 8.5/10.
Of course this is a farce, of course it makes no sense whatsoever. But the point is that it's funny and clearly out of this world. So, once you get the idea, all you have to do is let yourselves be carried by the flow. In fact, after a while I was even playing with possible next victims... but I was fooled all the time. I am just too Cartesian, hehehe!
At any rate, it does take a special sense of humor to appreciate this movie. The acting by all the seasoned actors is just right, cool, no exaggeration, just enough to get the story moving along, however weird it might be.
In conclusion, this is a very unusual and therefore interesting movie.
The film plays like a futuristic thriller directed by Bunuel - and if Blier's ultimate timidity means it's never quite as good as that, it's still a remarkable achievement in mainstream, never mind generic, cinema, and very, very funny.
Did you know
- TriviaThe film had 777,127 admissions in France which was considered a failure. It has however since gained cult status.
- GoofsWhen Insp. Morvandieu fires his gun, for the first time and at the end, he shoots 10 rounds in a row without reloading, using a 6-chamber revolver.
- Quotes
L'assassin: Lots of murders lately?
Inspecteur Morvandieu: Things aren't bad.
L'assassin: Got the guilty guys?
Inspecteur Morvandieu: As few as possible. They are more dangerous in prison than out.
Alphonse Tram: Why?
Inspecteur Morvandieu: They contaminate the innocent.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Merci la vie (1991)
- SoundtracksString Quartet No. 1 in C minor Op. 51/1
Written by Johannes Brahms
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- Also known as
- Buffet Froid
- Filming locations
- Lavars, Isère, France(bridge and rowboat scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro