March 4, 2010: French Roast
French Roast is an 8-minute animated short film from France, nominated for the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. A man sits in a French cafe and orders a coffee, but then can’t find his wallet, so he stays and continues ordering coffees while he tries to figure out what to do about his problems.
It just gets worse and worse. Now all hopped up on caffeine, the man has repeated episodes with a homeless man begging for change, an old woman sitting next to him in the cafe, and the patient but increasingly suspicious waiter who senses that something may be amiss. Rest assured that things all work out somehow in the end, after several MINUTES of suspense.
The exaggerated faces and postures and hairstyles are delightful, and part of the reason why I tend to like animated short films. They can create their own original aesthetic and self-contained world, and don’t need to stay beyond their welcome. French roast is a slight, but perfectly serviceable animated short film and I can understand why it got an Oscar nomination.
Quick review for a quick film.
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