Movie review of Café de Flore

Title: Café de Flore
Year Released: 2011
Country: Canada and France
Language: French and English
Rating: NR   My Rating: R
Score (out of five stars): 2
Gold: High
Silver: High
Bronze: High
Memorable: Medium
Temptation for checking the time: Medium
Acting: High
Writing: Medium / Low
Cinematography: High
This movie irritated me, in that there was, literally, only one likable character in the entire film, that being   Carole’s, (Hélène Florent’s) best friend Amélie, (Évelyne de la Chenelière) who gets literally zero play in any of the reviews  or news I’ve read about this film. She seems the only wise, loving, and round player in the entire drama.

Probably the least likable character is the protagonist  Antoine, (Kevin Parent), a self-absorbed addict who’s traded his Beefeaters for fornicating with a vapid sex kitten and then spends the balance of the film trying to convince us that destroying his mostly dysfunctional family’s life is okay, so long as he is happy. There was literally not one thing I liked about this character.

Even his father’s impassioned speech offers little value, as the man is a caricature, a recovering drunk capable of expressing nothing more than anger and loathing for his son. His objection is dismissed as sanctimony, his plea for his son to man-up nothing more than a moralizing rant.

The jilted wife’s ultimate catharsis is not enough either as the destruction of her demons does little to convince me that she’s done nothing more than move from victim-hood to martyrdom. There might have been some redemption here had we seen evidence that she would be okay. I didn’t, and that’s a shame when she serves as a symbol for an all too frequent reality in today’s Cialis stoked and driven society.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée has succeeded in force-feeding his audience a serving of Hollywood’s version of reality, and worse, morality, and I came away with a bad taste in my mouth.

I rated the bronze aspect high in this film due to the few rather explicit sex scenes infused here and there. They were distracting and may be off-putting, therefore the high rating.

These are my film reviews. I am not any more qualified to offer them than anyone else. I just love films and seek out works that are not on the radar, especially foreign language and independent films. Many of my friends consult me for interesting stuff to watch, so, I’ve decided to put them on my blog.
I am constantly on the lookout for films that are entertaining and always with an eye toward how they treat subjects and matters of the human condition. I feature myself a moralist, and am especially drawn to works that bring out emotion and treat heavy subject matter with respect. 
I’ve decided, in addition to giving just a number rating, to also give weight to the three basic concepts of the human condition, as described by Plato in his Republic; namely,
The gold, to represent the mind,
The Silver, to represent the heart, and
The bronze, to represent, well, you know, the region below the belt.
I think this is useful in describing films. 

Some other things of note:
I’ll give a rating whenever the film has not been, to help give the reader a sense of what to expect.
I’ll rate the films 1-5, five being the top score.
I’ll also rate the film on how memorable it was. My good friend mentioned that, and I agree. He stated that he bases a film or book on how long he thought about it after the experience. Great insight.
Temptation for checking the time is just that. Was the film boring? Did I consult my watch, or the little bar at the bottom of the screen when streaming, to see when the thing would end?
Finally, for the more bronze-ish movies, I’ll let the viewer know how explicit the sex is or how much nudity is involved.
Hope these reviews will be useful.
John