MovieChat Forums > Café de Flore (2011) Discussion > Call me Stupid but This Film Went Comple...

Call me Stupid but This Film Went Completely Over My Head


I have no idea what I just watched. Somewhere in there I believe is a good movie. I just didn't connect with it other than the great music. This movie certainly is NOT subtitle friendly. Yea, yea, I need to learn French. Fine. But until then, I need subtitles and this film was not subtitle friendly. You can tell sometimes that scripts are written at a certain pace. This film was way too fast and furious to be reading subtitles. It's a not a criticism of the film itself but the rapid fire wording made it difficult to follow the editing, flashbacks, and the story.

I guess I'm confused over how these two stories were related. How were they related? I walked out of this film not feeling resolved. What did I miss? And what was the purpose of having a silly psychic character be introduced? Are we now suppose to be believe in psychics to understand the deeper meaning of this film? What am I missing? Help me!

I wanted to like this movie. And maybe on a second viewing I will end up liking it more. Until then, I have a feeling of dissatisfaction with this film.

I simply didn't get it. The Tree of Life? Now, I completely connected with that film.

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Don't bother, it's a very stupid movie. I admired the cinematography, editing, and directing. the acting was sufficient. But it's the writing that turned all of those wonderful aspects into a pile of junk.
The silly psychic character was the one who validated the ex-wife's suspicion about her being the mother of the mongoloid boy in her previous life and her ex-husband as the boy in his previous life. The mongoloid girl with whom the boy fell in love was actually the ex-husband's bimbo.
It was revealed near the end that the mother committed suicide via crashing her car into another car (with the girl and the boy in the back seat) because she was crazily jealous at how inseparable the kids had become.
In the end, the previous life story line was used as the justification of the ex-husband's douchey and selfish choice to leave his wife for a fresh meat. Everybody was happy in the end. oh, they're actually the inseparable retarded couple in the previous life so it must be ok for the husband to leave the wife for another woman without no apparent reason other than the new woman is younger and way more attractive than the wife.


My List:
http://www.imdb.com/list/2oNF6wXyc5k/

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You summed up all my thoughts about the film.

I love experimental, radical cinema, but this was just a pile of wank, it reminded me of the Claude Lelouch cheap school of philisophy, we are all related chabadabada...

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Yeah, usually I am a huge fan of Vallée's movies... But this one was *beep* stupid...

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You are not alone. I also failed to see the connection between Carole and Jacqueline (the ex-wife and the mother of the special child), however, the explanation that "Horny Donkey" gave you was very good and it helped me to finally see the connection.

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[deleted]

It is a brilliant film. It is a grower. Rewatch off a quality format on a good system it will become clearer and clearer and you will connect more and more over time. The best kind of films unless you prefer McMovies.

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Café de Flore is the type of film you have to watch more than once. You have look out for specific symbolism and reflect upon the narrative's theme to gain a greater understanding.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

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I have had the Canadian Bluray (I am in the UK) for 2 years and I still get more when I watch it after 2 years !!

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There are a lot of subtle sub plots but most of it is in what they all say to each other and where each person intertwines with each other.

I could write a great deal here considering you and others have said they didn't understand but I'll keep it simple.

A number of them (the main mail mainly) has troubled pasts and the role of the mother is there. So the connection is that Vanessa Paradis was a mother who fell in love with her son and mothered him but they weren't the one and connected on that basis.

So eventually he met the one. He had problems with alcohol which go back to his problems in the past before he even met his eventual wife.

The Downs Syndrome is all about how we try to love people and shelter them from the world and take care of them and like Vanessa Paradis said we shelter the people we love the most from the world. Eventually though, once you've taken care of them they will want to find their own place in the world.

I think the main factor in the whole film is how the world is controlling everything (he's a DJ) and we think we can fix broken things and make everything come together (musically as seen in the film) but if we just let things be then everyone will come together where they are to be. You have to have faith in people other wise (like the children and the family) people become attached to things that are in fact difficult for, like, Antoine.

It's not saying we shouldn't take care of people but if someone is broken let them find their own way but ultimately that's how the plot unravels. It's actually just a story of love and how people we love can separate from us if they haven't yet found what they want and break everything around them in the process. So in the end, you have to let go of broken things so they can fix themselves on their own - even if you have to remain broken for them to fix themselves.

All in all it's an absolutely amazing film.

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