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

Sextet Opus 36
Written by Johannes Brahms

User Reviews

A scathingly surreal and hilarious black comedy

This is a superbly surreal black comedy from Bertrand Blier. It won a Cesar award for the screenplay. Gerard Depardieu plays an unemployed guy named Alphonse Tram, who may or may not have killed a stranger in the subway. He lives with his wife in a strange and stylish, almost empty high-rise apartment block. That is until she is killed by a misogynist murderer who is afraid of the dark. He knocks on Alphonse's door and announces this to him after her death; Alphonse then immediately makes him a meal and chats amiably with him.

The other main character is an odd police chief inspector (played by the director's father). Alphonse tells him he could have knifed a man in the subway, and later introduces him to his wife's murderer. The inspector completely overlooks all this of course. The inspector tells the other two men it's better to keep the murderers on the streets, that way they don't contaminate the innocent in prison. Another scene has the three men comforting the wife of a man they have just killed (on his instructions). She is then extremely ill in bed, and the trio call for a doctor. He arrives, and then makes love to the stricken lady while the men watch. Afterwards he gives the diagnosis, "It's just a minor viral infection."

The misogynist murderer is later seen searching for a woman alone to kill. A man tells him there's a mature lady who lives next door to him. "How do you know she's mature?", "Because she makes Jam.", he offers. The police inspector later asks for around thirty officers to accompany him to a house to arrest a violinist, just because he is allergic to them. It is all very funny, surreal and refreshing. If you like the later films of Buñuel, you'll like Buffet Froid.

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:

1.66 : 1