Reviews (7)

I am very confussed
Try as I might I will never understand french humor. Yes this movie was funny and yes the acting is excellent don't get me wrong but come on the whole 12 year old kid suducing a grown women thing??? I don't understand maybe I just don't think very deeply.

GOYH: Funny, Perceptive Film
Blier creates a world that illustrates what men really know about women: Nothing! Depardieu and Dewaere deliver two brilliant performances that seem like one. They are friends joined by their common ignorance about what goes on inside a woman's head. The final twist and their ultimate realization of the futility of their mission is satisfying, as well as the other comic situations. The film's charm is that the humor is wild, but somehow never goes completely over the top. I highly recommend this comic gem. I don't think Depardieu has ever been better, and Dewaere matches him perfectly.

The Sauerkraut is not working.....
In 1978 when Bertrand Blier's "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" was released in the United States we were all bopping to the beat of "Saturday Night Fever" and the Bee Gees. It was also a time when the "foreign film" was what Independent films are today: the place to go for the daring, the obscene maybe, the intellectual...sometimes.(Haven't you wondered why so few foreign movies are released in the USA today?)
"GOYH" was something else again, though: at the beginning an anarchic though sunny comedy of manners and by the end a black comedy with big concerns on it's mind dealing in 1978 (mind you) with subjects that are still taboo in the USA in 2002!
The first scene of the film throws us into a situation that is already in progress: Raoul (Gerard Depardieu) is frantic because his wife Solange (Carole Laure),lanquidly eating her saurkraut: obviously unhappy or manic depressive or both.
Raoul is so desperate to make Solange happy that, when he spys Stephane (Patrick Dawaere) in the restaurant, he offers to bring him over to the table for Solange's amusement and pleasure. And so he does.
First there is just Raoul and Solange; then Stephane and Solange; then Raoul, a woman he pulls off the street to comment on what he's just done, Stephane and Solange...all sitting at the table in the restaurant. The exposition is accomplished so quickly and so absurdly that we feel we are watching a silent film comedy. Blier writes and directs this first extended scene with such expert awareness of timing and pacing that it takes your breath away and grabs your interest immediately.
Ultimately, though Stephane and Raoul do their best to make Solange happy, it's Christian (Riton Liebman) who is finally the only one who touches her heart. (Don't ask)
In order to make this hybrid comedy-drama-romance work the actors must be quick on their feet and possess charm and panache to spare. All those involved do and then some: Depardieu and Dawaere, both looking young, handsome and flummoxed, Michel Serrault (soon to make a big splash in "La Cage aux Folles"),as a neighbor who inadvertenly gets pulled into this caper and Carole Laure with probably the hardest role to pull off: part zombie, part plain-jane, part sex pot.
"Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" is pain stakingly and downright seditious in it's refusal to adhere to any social or societal rules...and because of this, it must to be cherished and revered for these attributes even now; some 24 years after it's initial release.

GET OUT YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS....
...this film both bothers and fascinates as it tells the story
of a young man who will (in a very continental way) do almost
anything to see his wife happy. The film is beautiful to look
at and all the scenes seem very normal and attractive..but what
is going on is very strange indeed. This young couple go to a
restaurant...and add a pleasant fellow diner to their menage.
The three of them work at a summer camp for children and the
wife is seduced by a twelve year old boy. This is one of those
films which one goes back to time after time and finds fascinating and mystifying. The actors and performances are
simply perfect, but the film never fails to both delight and
disturb. Its world looks like our world, but many things have
gone askew. Prepare for an unusual experience.

Random at first, but funny
This seems at first to lack a real message at first, but is nonetheless quite enjoyable. It's very funny throughout, at times almost in a Monty Python manner, in that the action and plot are surreal and would normally seem both improbable and non-sensical. You will not want to stop watching, and when it's over, I think you'll be drawn back to watch it again. Certainly it is one of Depardieu's lesser-known films. I have rarely seen it mentioned, as it is older and, I assume, not sponsored with nearly the same amount of marketing as his bigger Hollywood films of more recent years. I think the obvious lack of attention this film receives adds to its innocence and appeal. For those seeking an enjoyable French comedy, that is touching, humorous and innocent, I would reccomend this film. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A French "Easy Rider" but rather more misogynistic...
Yes this is a french road movie, which in itself is interesting, but the rather sickening misogyny of the first part of the film makes it often hard to stomach. So be forewarned as you watch this, for if you are a fan of French cinema and culture, there are some things to be gleaned. As a portrait of a part of French society in the early seventies, culturally not long after the student riots of '68, the bohemian existentialist anti-bourgeois drifter held a romantic appeal similar to that found in an American equivalent to this film, Easy Rider. The relationship between the two men and the much older Jeanne Moreau actually subverts the film's early presentation of women as sexually and intellectually inept; yet her untimely end does nothing to truly mark her sexual freedom as empowered or stronger than that of poor miou miou who is pretty much a stereotyped kitten throughout, even when she learns to "enjoy" her freedom with the men at film's end.
Ultimately, if you are seeking an "amelie" or "il postino" or some other such Eurofilm fun, avoid this. But if you watch french films for some insight into the culture, this one is worth seeing. However, be prepared for some pretty brutal treatment of women. Nonetheless, the men are all largely bourgeois dupes or "liberated" trash too, so at least the film is egalitarian in its disdain for stereotypical gender roles. It is interesting to watch this film in tandem with Truffaut's "the man who loved women" for some insight into one aspect of the French view of women.

a must see..!
Patrick Dweare and Gerard Depardieu are so good together in this movie.a lot of energy from the pair and also some good laughs,the dubbing is ok but i think the movie is better in french speaking.it's a must see if you like french movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For cinephiles who enjoy experimental storytelling, Un, Deux, Trois, Soleil offers a fascinating movie experience. While providing a tour-de-force showcase for French actress Anouk Grinberg, director Bertrand Blier defies conventional narrative in telling the troubled story of Victorine, a young woman from the tenements of Marseilles whose life is comprised (at various ages from 12 to 25, all played by Grinberg) of a series of surreal incidents that take on the unsettling quality of a fever dream. Social conventions are reversed, moral codes are rendered anarchic (e.g., burglary is encouraged), and linear chronology is replaced by a timeline that leaps forward and back on a whim, leaving the viewer deliberately disoriented, with none of the familiar reference points for following the story. But there's a method to Blier's cinematic madness: Not only is the film beautifully photographed and brilliantly acted (with a cast including Marcello Mastroianni and then-newcomer Olivier Martinez), but there's a kind of frazzled logic to Blier's depiction of lost innocence, social corruption, and borderline insanity. It's not for all tastes, but Un, Deux, Trois, Soleil (the name of a schoolyard game in the film) is a challenging drama that rewards attentive viewers. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the films of Bertrand Blier, love is a virus that sends its victims on a feverish fling of impulsive passion before leaving them abandoned and alone. The difference in Too Beautiful for You is an empathy and warmth rarely seen in Blier's often cynical work. Gérard Depardieu is the successful car dealer ambushed by Cupid when plain-looking secretary Josiane Balasko clumps into the office. It seems to defy all reason, how this frumpy, dumpy woman with eyes that caress lures Depardieu from elegant wife Carole Bouquet, a woman so poised and perfect she's more trophy than trophy wife, but love follows no reason. Neither does Blier's film, which dances through fantasies and flashbacks with the abandon of a daydream. It makes for a confusing story but a vivid experience, all passion and music and joy and pain: love, in all its obsessive, destructive ecstasy. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"Gorgeous women create chaos."
"Too Beautiful For You"--a Bertrand Blier film--is the story of an affair between a middle-aged businessman, Bernard (Gerard Depardieu) and his employee. All of Bernard's male friends envy the fact that he has a beautiful society wife, Florence (Carole Bouquet). One look at his wife, and they say "Bernard's a lucky stiff." One day, Colette (Josiane Balasko), the new office temp, arrives in Bernard's office. She's plump and "a bit of a slob," however, there's instant chemistry between her and Bernard. Within a matter of days, Bernard is embroiled in a passionate affair with Colette.

The film explores some interesting ideas about adultery and love triangles. For example, why is Bernard attracted to Colette? Florence appears, on the surface at least, to be the sort of woman every man would select--while Colette is rather average. When Florence suspects her husband is having an affair, she stomps down to the office to take a look at the new temp, and when she sets eyes on dumpy Colette, she is relieved. Of course, every woman thinks her adulterous husband is having an affair with a woman who is more attractive, but what happens when the "other woman" is much less attractive?

There's some clever photography--for example, one scene is shot of Bernard and his wife with the camera placed in Colette's office looking through the glass divider. Not only do we see the husband and wife interact as Colette is seeing them, but we also see Colette's reflection in the glass as she stares at the couple and tries to analyze the competition.

The film, however, is completely ruined by its ever-increasing reliance on surrealism. At first, the surreal scenes are quite acceptable--for example, there's a great surreal scene when Colette strolls through a train station and imagines she's the focus of ever man's desire. However, the surreal scenes then begin to eat the plot, and soon, it's unclear what is plot, and what is fantasy. The scene when Florence is the dowdy housefrau is particularly ludicrous. While raising some intriguing questions, the film fails to speculate about answers, and instead, we are subject to a surreal drift towards pretentious absurdity, and this is highly unfortunate--displacedhuman

Clever film on the meaning of love
In this clever take on love and relationships, the affairs of three people are enigmatically
portrayed. Everyone adores Bernard's wife Florence. His friends lust for her, her friends envy her. She is very beautiful, and for Bernard there is nothing more left to desire. And that is precisely what troubles him: she may just be too beautiful. His secretary, a temp named Colette, is completely the opposite to Florence. But in her physical unattractiveness Bernard finds a refuge to his peculiar dilemma. Despite of what may seem as a logical explanation, he is not plagued by an inferiority complex. What drives Bernard is the psychological force of the middle-age crisis. Some people wonder whether what they have is as good as it gets. Bernard actually knows that. The second he is near Florence he knows that that is true; gazes of his friends reassure him in that.

With Colette, however, he feels completely at ease. There is no need for self-assertion and he is free to choose. Naturally, there is much more to this film, which is full of surprises and unexpected events. The only country where such a complex and somewhat surrealistic plot could have been brought to life, where careful avoidance of turning the film into a soap opera, a pointless comedy, or a tedious drama meets with the bittersweet taste of love and desire is France, and the philosophy of love, the satire, and the superb acting -- Depardieu, Bouquet, and Balasko make a lovely team -- are also typically French here. Ironically enough, the question of the age is inverted to "what does a MAN want?" ... Read more

Amazon.com

Playing murder as farce is nothing new for French filmmakers, but Bertrand Blier brings the concept to a new level in Buffet Froid, a bleak, ironic black comedy. An unemployed man is enmeshed in a nightmarish situation that plays itself out with unapologetic illogic: he falls in with shady characters like his wife's killer, a corrupt police chief, and a young beauty who is definitely not what she seems. Like all Blier romps (most notably the scatological Going Places and Ménage), Buffet Froid is definitely not for everyone, and Gérard Depardieu fans might feel especially cheated by his passive performance. But if your own taste runs to the surrealistic dreamscapes of Luis Buñuel's final films, then Blier's cheerfully amoral tale is worth seeing. --Kevin Filipski ... Read more

Reviews (15)

BEST SERVED COLD
The blackest of black comedies, Bertrand Blier's surreal "BUFFET FROID" (Fox Lorber,...), stars Depardieu as Alphonse, a jobless man who may or may not be a murderer and his relationships with his wife's killer, an oddball police inspector and other cynical misfits.

Very French in it's skewed perspective and very cold-hearted in its execution, this bizarre film is from the director of the shockingly funny "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" and the equally disturbing ugly love story "To Beautiful For You." When I first saw this movie it held my attention and I thought about it for days. Seeing it again, I recall that I never had emotional or intellectual closure. It's meaning escaped me and the subtext was unsettling. I was not enlightened about life but only allowed to share a dream where life is unpredictable, has no meaning and the attempt to seek answers is the first step in one's eventual downfall. Pretty cold servings to digest (hence the title?). Still, this singularly bizarre tale from 1979 is worth seeing. Maybe somewhere in this material is the key to David Lynch's "Mullholland Dr."

The best black comedy in the seventies
In the best tradition of Luis Buñuel and a touch of Billy Wilder, this puzzle comedy turns around three paranoid men each one with his particular focus.
Blier plays the role of the policeman who decides to break the rules.
Depardieu as always is top notch.
The script sails between the irony and the tragedy. It's a clever surrealistic journey about situations out of control.
Please, let the logical out your mind and be part of this well made film.
Enjoyable from beginning to end.

A buñuelian film noir
In the best tradition of the sarcasticc, ironic and devasting spirit of Luis Buñuel's filmography (and obviously a Billy Wilder's touch), the film runs by its own with a masterful plot brilliant travels and remarkable performances.
Blier made a film absolutely free of any kind of convencionalism, intelligent humor, clever sense of absurd and mesmerizing laberyntic journey into the underworld, the acid view about a policeman who decides breaking the rules together with two men who are under a high stress anguish by different reasons . Suddenly all the sense of reality suffers a blackout and you become part of it.
Watch this film. And convince by yourself this is a fascinating tale, a brilliant work, and an unforgettable movie in any age.
You'll be widely rewarded. And please, forget the logical and drown in this surrealistic story.
Eternally enjoyable.
Depardieu as always at his top.

Death Warmed Up
"Buffet Froid" is a thriller without thrills, a murder mystery with no solution, and a comedy that's only funny to a certain type of person. When you add all these ingredients up, you get one heck of a surrealist piece. It is a movie many people will hate after just one viewing. It is bleak, morbid, ruthless, and bizarre in its apparent lack of concern for plot or realism. When I watched in my high-school French class, there wasn't much laughter, though there was a lot of "What??" and "Oh, my God..." I didn't hate it, though. I was quite intrigued.

The film opens in a metro station, where a young man named Alphonse (Gerard Depardieu) attempts to engage an unfriendly older man in conversation. Oddly, the man warms up when the topic of duscussion switches to death and murder. Alphonse produces a switchblade knife, and it's hard to tell if he's threatening or just emphasizing his words. The knife vanishes; the older man grows frightened and flees on a train; and very shortly afterward, Alphonse finds him lying in a passageway with the knife buried in his stomach. Is Alphonse the murderer? Not even he knows.

Alphonse goes home, where his wife doesn't react at all upon learning of the murder. They live in a cheerless apartment halfway up a large tenement complex that is completely uninhabited except for them and their new upstairs neighbor, a police chief. Alphonse's wife goes missing and turns up murdered in a vacant lot, and before we know it, a short, nervous man is knocking on Alphonse's door and introducing himself as the murderer. Alphonse invites him in for a drink, and they are soon joined by the police chief ("I'd like you to meet my wife's murderer." "Pleasure."). Then another man shows up who wants Alphonse to assassinate someone for him, but the victim turns out to be...and so on.

"Buffet Froid" may not look like a surrealist piece, but it definitely is. All throughout the movie, there's a sense of wrongness and unreality. Alphonse, the chief, and the murderer form a kind of alliance and have an odd series of adventures that all result in someone's death. Over the course of the film, no less than fifteen people are shot, stabbed, strangled, drowned, or suffocated, and yet the characters never react to the deaths with anything other than vague interest or mild annoyance. Everyone in the movie is either a murderer or has the potential to be one. No one behaves like a normal human being would in the circumstances, and this makes the film much more unpredictable and unsettling.

It's not just the acting, either. The cinematography is all browns, grays, and earthy colors, with an occaisonal startling splash of bright red (not blood; there is no blood anywhere in the film, despite all the death). There is virtually no music, except in a bizarre scene where Alphonse and the police chief visit a wealthy home and the chief is literally tortured by a string quintet. The scenes have little connection, and the motives of the characters are completely random, except for one person who I won't reveal. The closing scenes involve a bridge, a rowboat, and an ironic final twist that brings the plot in a macabre full circle. As the end credits roll, you feel unsatisfied because you're used to a conclusion that makes sense and wraps everything up. Oh, "Buffet Froid" wraps everything up, but definitely not in a happily-ever-after kind of way.

So, these are my thoughts on this peculiar little film. I recommend it to fans of surrealism and/or morbid humor. I can't say how much I "liked" it, but I admired its style and unapologetic ghoulishness. As long as France keeps making weird movies, I suppose I'll keep watching them. That is all.

comedy's hard to do...black comedy even tougher
I'm a fan of "Get Out Your Hankerchiefs" so assumed this offering from the same director would at least be enjoyable. I kept waiting for something funny to be done or said. I waited and waited. "The Trouble With Harry" or "Dr.Strangelove" are both great black comedies. This strives to be in their league but falls way short of the mark. It's possible that something's lost in the translation because to give the subtitles a dry read is to only further understand why French people revere Jerry Lewis-silliness in a somewhat surreal setting (wow, listen to that alliteration) does not necessarily make for a good comedy. Also the lack of subtlety (in every way with every character)makes this particularly off-putting. I'm at a loss as to how anyone could consider this even mediocre, much less brilliant. ... Read more