Buffet Froid – Review

In what is a strange and outlandish dark comedy script full of odd behavior and violent ends, Buffet Froid brings an entertaining time. The unemployed Alphonse Tram (Depardieu) strolls through an empty underground train station. He sits next to the only other person there, who happens to be headed home late at night.

Alphonse is talkative and wants company, however this man wants nothing to do with him. This creates an odd dialogue and tension between the pair as they shuffle around empty seats. But then… the conversation takes a turn. Alphonse asks the man if he ever wants to kill anyone, as in, for the insurance.

The other man is intrigued all of a sudden. Who would be killed? Anyone. Why? Just like that, no reason, on impulse. This man rebuffs Alphonse with a strong “No, never!” Alphonse counters, even on the metro?! Well… a pause to consider… Alphonse shows the man his pocket knife, a switchblade. What the hell kind of opening is this? Is Alphonse some crazy psychopath?! No, just some oddball social experimenter and strange idealist ready to showcase this morbid comedy.

Alphonse lives with his wife in a completely empty building; other than one new tenant she tells him about: Inspecteur Morvandieu (Blier) of the local police. As his switchblade winds up in unexpected places, and his wife disappears, Alphonse forms an alliance with this cop, as well as another dark and mysterious man (Carmet).

The plot is hard to anticipate and while it appears as a somewhat ‘realistic’ story, the presentation comes off as dreamlike and farcical due to the humor infused into most all of the scenes. Nonchalant reactions to absurd events help create this ambience along with its aloof script. Buffet Froid is a quality picture and I liked it, but it won’t fly for everyone. It is a bit slow and its humor is at times nuanced, and likely there are some cultural and historical bits that went over my head.

It’s definitely a harder to explain experience without dipping into story details, but the plot itself moves along just fine despite its odd nature. Diverse characters with some unexpected common ground on thinking and tendencies are thrown together to form a strange trio, but they all still retain their unique personalities and present an interesting dynamic.

While there is typically some cultural humor that foreign audiences won’t get every part of, I didn’t have too much trouble finding the right vibe for this French dark comedy of the past. It was a nice farce featuring solid dialogue, even if it is a bit dated here and there. I found it well directed and interestingly framed with slow and steady camera movements to match its methodical dialogue and onscreen action.

“Well, there’s a knife in my stomach.”