Buffet Froid

Bertrand Blier's Buffet Froid is a terrific black comedy that manages to express the impersonal nature of the modern urban environment and solitary life, through a bizarre chain of events and unexpected connections.

The story follows three very different men (an accountant, a police inspector and an unemployed man) whose lives slowly cross paths in often highly unlikely circumstances around Paris. As the film unravels, we witness a string of murders and seemingly meaningless encounters, all mixed together in an intriguingly surreal way.

Director Bertrand Blier (Les Valseuses, Les Acteurs) directs Gérard Depardieu (The Singer, Mammuth, Le Dernier Métro) again in this captivating and darkly comic film, which exploits the conventions of the crime genre for its own ends, while creating a wonderfully surreal atmosphere where each scene has its own unique atmosphere.

Depardieu has made some of the finest films of his career with Blier - he has, in fact, starred in a grand total of eight films by the director - and Buffet Froid is certainly testament to the fact that the working relationship between the two men created some of the finest films from France in that period.

The film also stars Bernard Blier (father of Bertrand) as the inspector, who plays remarkably well against Depardieu in the triangle of different male characters.

For fans of Bertrand Blier, Depardieu or black comedy in general, this is a fun and surreal ride not to be missed.

Don't miss Mise en Scène with Jason Solomons interviewing Bertrand Blier and our Gérard Depardieu Weekend. Read more