Buffet Froid (1979)

Black comedy about solitude and the dehumanization of the modern world, through the adventures of three men. First introduced is Alphonse Tram, an unemployed young man. His only neighbour ... See full summary »

Director:

Bertrand Blier

Writer:

Bertrand Blier

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Alphonse Tram
Bernard Blier	...	Inspecteur Morvandieu / Insp. Morvandieu
Jean Carmet	...	L'assassin / The murderer
Denise Gence	...	L'hôtesse / The hostess
Marco Perrin	...	Le maçon / The man in undershirt
Jean Benguigui	...	L'homme en noir / The hired killer
Carole Bouquet	...	Le jeune femme
Jean Rougerie	...	Eugène Léonard, le témoin
Liliane Rovère	...	Josyane
Bernard Crombey	...	Le toubib / The doctor (as Bernard Crommbey)
Michel Fortin	...	L'escogriffe
Roger Riffard	...	Le garde de la tour
Maurice Travail	...	Le garde du terrain vague
Nicole Desailly	...	La femme divorcée
Pierre Frag	...	L'homme divorcé

Storyline

Black comedy about solitude and the dehumanization of the modern world, through the adventures of three men. First introduced is Alphonse Tram, an unemployed young man. His only neighbour is the police chief-inspector Morvandieu. Then a third man appears: he is Alphonse's wife's murderer... Bizarre and unreal.

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Plot Keywords:

subway station | bloody knife | shot to death | absurd | darkness | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film had 777,127 admissions in France which was considered a failure. It has however since gained cult status.

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Goofs

When Insp. Morvandieu fires his gun, for the first time and at the end, he shoots 10 rounds in a row without reloading, whereas he uses a 6 chambers revolver.

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Connections

Referenced in Merci la vie (1991)

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Soundtracks

Quintette Opus 111
Written by Johannes Brahms

User Reviews

cool and totally out of this world

I went in really having no idea what this movie was about. I do that sometimes so as to get more surprise, in essence to get more out of the experience. Well in this case I was not only surprised but even amazed. Nothing that I was expecting was coming out as I thought... ohhh yes, except at the end. The final was the only logical way to conclude such a strange story. And interestingly enough, that too goes against common sense, whereas in regular movie, the final is often an attempt to surprise the viewers.

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.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 December 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

Buffet Froid

Filming Locations:

Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, Isère, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

France 2 (FR2), Sara Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1