Cafe de Flore poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, Evelyne Brochu, Martin Gerrier ... see more see more... , Jean-Marc Vallée , Chanel Fontaine , Emile Vallee , Joanny Corbeil-Picher , Linda Smith , Michel Dumont , Rosalie Fortier

Two stories of love and responsibility separated by four decades have a common link in this drama from writer and director Jean-Marc Vallee. In 2011, Antoine (Kevin Parent) has a life most people woul... read more read more...d envy -- he's a successful club DJ living in Montreal with an international following, he has a beautiful girlfriend Rose (Evelyne Brochu), and is raising two healthy daughters. However, Rose is not Antoine's first love, and he's still infatuated with his ex-wife Carole (Helene Florent), the mother of his children. Carole hopes he'll someday return to her, though despite his feelings there's little evidence to suggest he will. In 1969, Jacqueline (Vanessa Paradis) is a single mother who is raising a seven-year-old son Laurent (Marin Gerrier). Laurent was born with Down's Syndrome, and is not expected to live past 25; Jacqueline is determined to do whatever she can for her boy during the time he has, but as the stress of these demands take their toll, we learn that she and Carole share a special connection. Named for a song beloved by both Antoine and Laurent, Cafe de Flore was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

70% want to see it

854 ratings

Critics

78% liked it

32 critics

Unrated, 2 hr.

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée

Invite friends to see

report incorrect info

Photos

None yet... Got one?

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (98)

  • c0up
    April 26, 2012
    c0up
    'Cafe de Flore'. Love, its dizzying highs and lows, and everything else in between, in this brave, stunning, deeply affecting film.

    I am still reeling from this thing, three hours later. What starts as two seemingly separate, simple stories about love, takes a very dark, spirit... read moreual turn, and in the process, explores "love" in its many forms.

    I say two simple stories in relation to where the story goes, but they aren't simple by any means.

    It almost feels wrong to call the raw, incredible compassion shown by Jacqueline to her Down Syndrome son, Laurent "acting". Vanessa Paradis is outstanding as a mother who has given all her love and devoted her life to her son, expecting nothing less than the same in return. The introduction of Vero, and Laurent's "I love her like I love you" sets things unravelling.

    The present day story is equally compelling, and thematically parallel in its telling of Carole, a woman like Jacqueline, who has only ever loved one person, but loses him to another, and cannot move on. They both still reminisce, and the way this whole film is edited, switching effortlessly between tones, stories and timeframes, is rather brilliant! Joyful, motherly love to a lost teen romance to the increasingly dark visions of Carole, that consistently unsettled me.

    In the short time I've had to process this, I've thought about the ending in a couple of different ways. I didn't know what to make of it at first, then felt the film would have worked just fine without connecting of the two storylines from a narrative perspective, bar Carole's visions.

    Then I thought about it again, and what Carole's "sorry" to Antoine meant. This is a Carole that has come to terms with the connection, and what she did as Jacqueline to Laurent and Vero. This Carole has finally let go, understanding that love is sadly not 1:1.

    I'd be amiss not to mention the soundtrack. It's probably my favourite of the year to date. The characters, especially Laurent, and his reincarnate, Antoine, are linked via the track 'Cafe de Flore'. Music means a lot to these two, translating naturally to the importance the soundtrack has to the audience.

    The experience of being challenged by cinema is one I thoroughly enjoy. This is not easy going, but it's damn rewarding.
  • MovieGeek13
    December 14, 2011
    MovieGeek13
    Jean-Marc Vallee is one of Canada's most daring and best filmmakers. In fact, Canada's best films tend to come from Quebec - Incendies, The Barbarian Invasions, Polytechnique, and C.R.A.Z.Y to name a few. And up to a certain point, I was ready to add Vallee's newest film, Cafe de... read more Flore to that list. Unfortunately, somewhere around the film's third act, the film just lost me. A very ambitious picture about very complicated people with a great soundtrack to boot, everything that it had going for it fell apart from a lack of direction, or simply a mash-up of strange, existential ideas that all of a sudden get thrown into the story at random.
    Following a very discontinuous editing pattern, the narrative follows two parallel stories - one in present day Montreal about a club DJ who has just divorced his high school sweetheart (and mother of his two children), and is now remarrying, the other in 1960s Paris about a mother with a Down syndrome child who struggles to provide that child with the most "normal" upbringing she can manage. The film balances these stories very well, and links them through the film's title, which refers to a song that both main characters love. Traces of Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express are evident, and the beautifully composed shots juxtaposed with a lounge induced soundtrack make for what is almost a perfect art-house experience.
    Yet all of a sudden the third act delves into a David Lynch horror picture, bringing up themes of reincarnation, a contrived drug relapse for characters you didn't even know were addicts in the first place (one was an alcoholic, but the drug part comes out of nowhere), the Parisian mother ends up tying her son to a bed to keep him from seeking out the girl he loves, sleepwalking, an annoyingly cliche dream sequence, and a ending that toots some magical clue to unlocking the picture. It just screams pretentious and shocking for the sake of being shocking. This third act completely undermines the film's touching and intriguing previous two thirds. Some people may love this film for its jarring and strange twists. I just kept asking myself, "where is Vallee going with this?" And wherever the hell we ended up, I just didn't care.
  • dketu
    May 17, 2012
    dketu
    Typical canadian attempt at artful expression by mish mash meaningles sick relationships. Sick because there is display of unhealthy psychological damage being done to a child by his mother through the way she mothers him. Adults incapable of being emotionaly free and independant... read more, they are imprisoned in relationships. Unhealthy, rotten versions of pretensious love that does not touch the inner soul.
    Stil it is fun to watch it all and appreciate its meaningles line that comes from nowhere and ends nowhere. In between a tastefull load of nonsense, is this art? I question that but must admit it was entertaining.
  • shannylee38
    October 5, 2011
    shannylee38
    Simply a beautiful love story!
  • vadermccandless
    May 22, 2012
    vadermccandless
    I found this more compelling that Vallee's CRAZY, even if it all seems a bit silly in the way it's tied up by the end.

View All Cafe de Flore Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
November 18, 2011
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Café de flore leaves you wrestling with your emotions, not sure of how to react. Full Review

Rick Groen
November 18, 2011
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

The film commands our attention again as more connections emerge -- not enough to fully solve the mystery, but sufficient to convince us that Café de Flore amounts to more than the triumph of style ov... Full Review

Guy Dixon
September 13, 2011
Guy Dixon, Globe and Mail

Simply a beautiful, intricate film. Full Review

Mary Corliss
September 9, 2011
Mary Corliss, TIME Magazine

The film is generous to all its besotted creatures, and to the audience as well. Viewers who fall in love with Café de Flore will find that it loves them back. Full Review

Boyd van Hoeij
September 1, 2011
Boyd van Hoeij, Variety

[A] loose-limbed, emotionally complex work. Full Review

Alan Jones
May 17, 2012
Alan Jones, Radio Times

Haunting and heartbreaking, director Jean-Marc Vallée's romantic drama is an electrifying multilayered experience. Full Review

Donald Clarke
May 14, 2012
Donald Clarke, Irish Times

The double-barrelled plot demonstrates great imagination. It's a shame that it amounts to so little. Full Review

Philip French
May 12, 2012
Philip French, Observer [UK]

The French story is fascinating and beautifully acted, the French-Canadian one is romantic daytime TV drivel, and the links between them - mystic, metaphysical, musical - do not lead towards resonance... Full Review

Allan Hunter
May 11, 2012
Allan Hunter, Daily Express

A challenging, heartfelt but often confusing drama that seesaws between the Paris of 1969 and contemporary Montreal. Full Review

May 10, 2012
Sun Online

After an exasperatingly lengthy build-up, the secret link between the two stories turns out to be utterly ridiculous, leaving a bad taste at the close. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Cafe de Flore : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Cafe de Flore. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Cafe de Flore to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?