The Films of Jean-Marc Vallée

Black List

Los Locos

Loser Love

C.R.A.Z.Y.

The Young Victoria

Café de flore (November 14/11)

An ambitious and sporadically electrifying drama, Café de flore examines the lives of both a '60s-era single mother (Vanessa Paradis' Jacqueline) attempting to raise her Down syndrome-afflicted son and a modern-day DJ (Kevin Parent's Antoine) who is juggling relationships with his young girlfriend and his depressive ex-wife. There's little doubt that the non-linear narrative, which jumps back and forth in time with frequent regularity, ensures that Café de flore initially comes off as a somewhat jarring moviegoing experience, with the viewer's patience rewarded as writer/director Jean-Marc Vallée begins developing the various characters and their various problems. (It's also worth noting that the film does, in its early stages, fare best when focused on the Paradis subplot, as there's certainly something inherently fascinating about her character's less-than-effortless existence.) The progressively stirring atmosphere is heightened by Vallée's often astonishing directorial prowess, as the filmmaker offers up a number of engrossing sequences that are nothing short of indelible in their impact - with the best and most obvious example of this an absolutely mesmerizing stretch set to Sigur Rós' "Svefn-g-englar." And although the film occasionally does feel longer than necessary, Café de flore, which climaxes with a jaw-droppingly riveting final ten minutes, primarily comes off as a thrillingly audacious drama that instantly confirms Vallée's place as an up-and-comer worth watching.

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