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Cinema

Buffet froid

Bertrand Blier · 1979

Synopsis

Alphonse Tram, an unemployed dreamer, comes across a stranger in the deserted corridors of the RER at La Défense and speaks to him. Shortly afterwards, the man is found murdered with his own knife. Tram confides in his new neighbour, a police inspector living in the same building. From then on, the encounters grow stranger and stranger, and a third man, who declares himself a murderer, joins them.

Context

The screenplay is by Bertrand Blier himself. Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, the director's father, Jean Carmet and Carole Bouquet are its performers. The film presents itself as a rigorously absurd film noir, which keeps its situations without giving the explanations. Released on 19 December 1979, it was re-released in cinemas in France on 26 April 2023, and Quad Cinema screened it in New York in 2019.

Who it is for

An hour and a half; a black and absurd comedy, whose sequences do not seek plausibility.

Prizes and reception

César for best original screenplay in 1980; Indicator is publishing a 4K restoration with English subtitles in 2026.

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