Ryan McNeil
Perception is everything sometimes. You can walk down the street, listening to your favourite song, and get it in your head that everyone is smiling at you. Perhaps the truth is, that you are the one who is smiling, and they are just smiling back? If you’re non-committal, you might say that it’s a little of both, but this question of cause and effect can be a nuanced one, and have more than one right answer. That’s the question at the heart of the newest film by Jean-Marc Valée…and it’s possible that there might be more than one right answer.
CAFE DE FLORE intercuts two separate stories.
In modern-day Montreal, we meet 40-year-old DJ Antoine (Kevin Parent). At the moment we meet him, he has it all: money, good health, beautiful children, and a wife he is madly in love with in every way. However, he didn’t get to this point without difficulty. He grew up deeply in love with someone else – Carol (played as an adult by Helene Florent). Upon meeting as teenagers, they became inseparable, going on to eventually marry and have two children. Eventually though, Antoine met Rose (Evelyne Brochu), and feels a stronger pull towards her. It’s similar to what he felt upon first meeting Carol…but perhaps stronger.
Whatever is behind his fascination with Rose, it’s enough to leave Carol for. As Antoine and Rose begin a new life together, Antoine’s children remain stand-offish – upset at their father for leaving their mother. Carol meanwhile, is left distraught, losing sleep and trying to understand what has happened.
The second story is set in 1969 Paris, and tells the tale of a young woman named Jacqueline (Vanessa Paradis). She is the single mother of a boy named Laurent who has Down Syndrome. Jacqueline wants only the best for her son, even going so far as to refuse to put him in a school that specializes on children with special needs. She builds the deepest of bonds with him, a bond that becomes slightly strained when her son develops a somewhat unhealthy bond with a girl in his class. For Jacqueline, life becomes a test as she strains to understand what is happening.
Much of CAFE DE FLORE draws from loving music – the love that borders on infatuation. I’m talking about that musical obsession some people have in the way it becomes part of their identity. They mark the years by the songs they played, they share their passion as a way of connection, and eventually their musical choices begin to tell their story. I was one of these people for a while – a small part of me still is – and much like the characters in this film, that makes music the art form that is most intricately laced into my day-to-day.
A side effect of this sort of musical connection is the way music can become a weapon. Share a song with someone and it takes on additional meaning – it reminds you both of the joy you might have shared, and any pain you might have caused. No matter where you are, and what you are doing, that song will always instantly take you back to that discontent. Every music lover knows this, which is what arms the song. So if someone wants to upset you – as happens within this story – they can rip you open just by pushing “play”.
The quirk to living life with one ear tuned towards the stereo, is the way it can make for some odd moments. You find you always want to be the DJ, picking just the right songs to play on the soundtrack of your life. Of course, that’s completely impossible, and inevitably you in yourself stuck in a moment with the wrong song playing. Such is the case when Antoine and Rose meet, since he first sees her dancing to a song he isn’t fussed about. He begins to play it repeatedly as their relationship grows, because it’s connected to her and to that moment. You know deep down he wishes that encounter was underscored by something better…but oddly enough, it might have been a perfect song whether Antoine thinks so or not.
The central question of CAFE DE FLORE – one unrelated to music – is whether you believe in greater forces at work. Do you believe that this is all there is, and that if things don’t pan out that you could have done something about it? Or do you believe that we’re all a part of some greater cosmic loop, and that there are forces at play in our daily lives that are far outside of our control?
If you believe that we are the masters of our fate, then there can come times where you will ask an unending string of questions about the moments that define your life. That’s why people like Carol can become so sadly obsessed over such instances. There’s a need to know “why”, and a need that is heightened all the more by the way things took a sudden turn off course. That “why” is sometimes just ineffable, and can only be explained as “sometimes these things happen”. Unfortunately, for some like Carol, that isn’t a good enough answer – and they run the risk of losing themselves in the search for another one.
Similar to Carol’s situation, one has to wonder what to make of Jacqueline and Laurent. Right from the start, her maternal nature is supercharged when her baby’s father backs away. When her world comes down to just she and Laurent, her life is defined by that relationship. So beyond the logistical challenges to her son’s affections for Veronique, it upsets her whole world order. She isn’t left looking for answers the same way that Carol is, but she is left equally rudderless by the change she had no part in.
Could Carol and Jacqueline have played their hand differently? Or was some sort of greater fate involved?
If you believe that events like these are out of our control, then you believe in both a blessing and a curse. CAFE DE FLORE suggests that an outlook like that can bring you connection on a deeper level, brought upon both by shared joys and by things far beyond your control. However, believing in such karmic forces is no without risk. If you have faith that “whatever was meant to be, will be”, then you could find yourself gently riding down that particular river, only to be suddenly dumped into the water without an oar.
The way all of these ideas come together in CAFE DE FLORE is nothing short of melancholy poetry. It’s a rare film that makes you want to be more selective in choosing the next song you play, and wondering just what you believe about its story…and your own life.
— Baffled that no one has commented on this review —
Likely one of the better things you’ve written.
It think a lot of us are attempting to find that perfect soundtrack to our lives. As someone who loves playing songs to match my mood and vice versa (playing music to alter my mood) … this film sounds quite intriguing.
It’s odd … I’ve never even heard of it.
I’m not as baffled.
People tend not to be drawn to reviews of films they haven’t heard of. Likewise, with the moving of my ratings to the end of the post, I’ve doubly-screwed myself on any curious lookie-loo’s that would have dug in for curiosity on the high mark.
I wasn’t sure if I got too abstract in not wanting to explain too much about this film’s plot. I think the piece makes more sense if you’ve seen the film, so I might be alienating a reader or two.
It’s a Canadian film which might make the rounds down there. If it doesn’t show up by the summer, look for it on Netflix.
I’ve been meaning to comment Ryan, but I feel as if I’ve blathered too much about the film already. You know how much I love it.
But let me say that I enjoyed the review mainly because it was so very abstract. It actually gives a good feel of the movie itself without giving any plot elements away. Music is so incredibly essential to not only the story, but to the way the film is edited and the “mixing” of the two stories. I’ve seen it three times now and I look forward to a 4th (don’t know if I can wait for the Blu-Ray).
I hope you track it down at some point Sam. I’ve seen DVD release dates for Canada in the late-Feb / early-April time frame.
I don’t think you can blather about it too much – although you might want to direct your blathering towards Lindsay (she wasn’t so fussed about it).
I was sorta going for an abstract review, but I’m wondering if I got too abstract. In talking about it with someone who hadn’t seen it, they mentioned that it didn’t really entice them that much. Perhaps it’s the sort of piece that reads better after one has seen the film. I think the way the music mixes the two stories together echoes Antoine’s role as a DJ.
I think I owe this one a re-watch…
I have seen it a while back, I didn’t really embrace it. I think my chief issue with the film is that it tried to “Inarritu” the movie by trying to bring the two story line together. It feels a little contrived and I have same issues with movies like Babel. I see what they are trying to do, but never quite convinced. Unfortunately. This one lost me in the end. I am wondering if the movie would work better without trying to bring the two stories together.
I would like to see it again though, it has a lot of good moments in it. The idea that you can’t stop fate is an intriguing one. The majority of the people loves this movie, so I may be missing something.
I actually quite liked the way they brought the stories together – and for my money, for me to declare an “Innaritu” there have to be three plot threads. The way they are brought together is he key to the whole film since they allow you to ask yourself if you believe in forces and fate beyond this plain of existence, or if one character is just deeply, deeply damaged.
Do give it another watch sometime – lord knows it’s pretty enough for a second look. Grab another ticket if only to soak up that glorious soundtrack through a theatre’s audio system one more time.
And boy did that soundtrack JUMP out that last time when we saw it at Lightbox.
Peter, my opinion of the way the stories connect is somewhat different than yours. Not that the movie is supposed to be a puzzle, but there are clues throughout the film (many of which I did not catch on first viewing) that help position my view that (SPOILERs AHEAD) the 1969 Paris story is all in Carole’s head and expresses her inability to let go. The past lives scenario is just a mechanism for her to be able to accept the state of things and to then finally allow herself to let go. I think the film is strong enough that you can view several interpretations, but to me this is the richest one.
I was part of a discussion about the film over on RowThree and we get deep into spoilers, etc. so take a look if interested…
Bob, when the movie reveal how both storyline was connected, I was taken out of the movie completely. A second viewing may help matters and make it better for me, I don’t doubt that. I do see the theme of the movie, which is letting go. Not only letting the love of her life go, but also letting herself go to find her own path. I just wished the movie finds a different way of connecting the storyline.
Fair enough Peter…I can’t say you’re wrong for reacting a certain way. Personally, I loved the connection – partially due to the editing and incredible use of music, but also because of the subtlety of the clues and how it actually avoided the standard “fate” answer. Carole has worked out the consequences of not letting go through the story in her dreams – even if she has to explain it as a past life connection just so that she can accept it.
I agree with Sam, this is an excellent review. You really captured the feeling of the film here.
I also side with Bob’s theory, I’ve only seen it once but there are a lot of little details that support it. This is also why I’m irked by the same thing that bothers Peter. If it’s not real then why bother including that part at all, and if it is real then why have the scene with the friend. Either way I think it detracts from the impact at the end.
Bob’s theory is correct – that Q&A I mentioned on your review that Vallee led after our screening, he confirmed as much. He actually pointed out the biggest clue of all: The album Laurent is obsessed with. It wasn’t around in 1969.
Thing is that whether it’s real or not isn’t obvious, so including it builds on the idea of soulmates and how people find each other again and again in subsequent lives. If that’s true, then that last little moment we see suggests that it’s all about to begin again.
Thanks for the comment – certainly glad to see this film getting more exposure.
Phenomenal review; very introspective. Made me want to seek this out ASAP.
It’s a surprisingly introspective film, which you might not expect for one that’s so subtle. It’s still sorta making the rounds, so ask about it at your favorite art-house theatre. Up here it’s already out on blu-ray.
I’ll look for it. Thanks.