''Buffet froid'' is a 1979 French film written and directed by

Bertrand Blier Bertrand Blier (; born 14 March 1939) is a French film director and writer. His 1978 film '' Get Out Your Handkerchiefs'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards. He is the son of famous French actor Bernar ...

, starring

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...

Carole Bouquet Carole Bouquet (born 18 August 1957) is a French actress who has appeared in more than 60 films since 1977. In 1990, she was awarded the César Award for Best Actress for her role in ''Too Beautiful for You''. She was the face of Chanel No. 5 f ...

Bernard Blier Bernard Blier (11 January 1916 – 29 March 1989) was a French character actor. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute, was posted at the time. Life and career His rotund features and ...

and

Jean Carmet Jean Carmet (25 April 1920 – 20 April 1994) was a French actor. Life and career Jean Carmet began working on stage and then in film in the early 1940s becoming a very popular comedic actor in his native country. He is best known internatio ...

. The film is a surreal

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

portrayed as a

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, set in Paris where contemporary urban life has alienated and dehumanized the city dwellers. The film won a

César Award for Best Writing The César Award for Best Writing (french: César du meilleur scénario, dialogues ou adaptation (1976-1982); ''César du meilleur scénario original ou adaptation'' (1986-2005) is a discontinued award given by the Académie des Arts et Techniques d ...

, and was nominated for Best Cinematography,

Editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

, and

Production Design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

Plot

The film begins at

La Défense station La Défense () is a station of the Transilien ( Réseau Saint-Lazare) suburban rail lines, RER commuter rail network, Paris Métro, as well as a stop of the Île-de-France tram network. In the future, Paris Metro Line 15 of Grand Paris Express ...

( RER), with Alphonse Tram (Gérard Depardieu), a less than gregarious character, idly chatting to an accountant who is travelling home very late. The accountant, a man of orthodox social outlook and standing is disturbed by and fearful of this rambling loner, more so when Tram attempts to give him his bloodstained knife (in order to reduce the chances of him "doing something silly..."). They argue and the accountant puts the knife on a seat a few feet away behind them. They argue some more and then notice the knife has disappeared. Later that night, Tram discovers the same man in a tunnel leading from another metro station, lying down with the knife stabbed into his stomach. He has no explanation to the police inspector Bernard (Blier) he reports it to as to how it happened. He speculates, perhaps unwisely but without caring for the potential consequences (as in Camus' '' L'Étranger''), to the police inspector that it was his own knife that killed the accountant. The police inspector, irate at having to consider a complex case while off-duty, pushes Tram out of his apartment saying he has a bellyfull of murders all day and doesn't want another to deal with. This sparks off a series of bizarre occurrences around the city as Tram's wife is killed, and the perpetrator (Jean Carmet) who confesses to the murder is seemingly taken light-heartedly by the police officer and Tram himself.

Cast

as Alphonse Tram *

as Insp. Morvandiau *

as The murderer * Liliane Rovère as Josyane *

as The young woman at the end *

Jean Benguigui Jean Benguigui (born 8 April 1944 in Oran) is a French actor. He is of Jewish-Algerian descent. In 2006 and 2007 he played the role of impresario Cartoni in a new adaptation of the operetta Le Chanteur de Mexico at the Théâtre du Châtelet T ...

as The hired killer * Jean Rougerie as Eugène Léonard * Bernard Crombey as The doctor * Eric Wasberg as Inspector Cavana *

Geneviève Page Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...

as Geneviève Léonard * Michel Serrault as The accountant in the opening scenes (uncredited)

Reception

The film had 777,127 admissions in France which was considered average. It has however since gained

cult status A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

References

External links

* * {{Bertrand Blier 1970s black comedy films 1979 films 1970s crime comedy films French black comedy films French crime comedy films Films directed by Bertrand Blier Films scored by Philippe Sarde 1970s French-language films 1970s crime thriller films 1979 comedy films 1970s French films