One of my all time favorites.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"Funny" would be a word that comes to mind naturally for describing this very retro-looking French comedy (in black and white and small screen) that is at once witty and idiotic, both. Four separate stories (of varying lengths, from 20 to 40 minutes) are loosely linked to a motif-serving cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris. We first see a witless robber wannabe trying to hold up the cafeteria ending up in a conversation with a sensuous waitress who turns out to be his kind of people. The brief flashback of her story is actually shot in the traditional silent movie mode, complete with captions. Following this short first "chapter" is the story of two kidnappers who have the heart of a Boy Scout leader. The teenage girl they have kidnapped turns out to be suicidal, being neglected by her father and also perhaps simply because it is fashionable. The brief connection with the cafeteria is that its parking lot is the venue where they are to receive the ransom from the father, who never show up. While they wait, there is a very brief (but outrageously hilarious) link back to the first story, if you had been paying attention.The third story is a chance encounter, in the same night, of two pop band leaders both stopping for coffee at the cafeteria en route to Paris. While the band members sit at the counter, the two find themselves a quiet corner to chat. During a very engaging (and extremely well-acted conversation), we discover gradually what had happened between them some years ago. The final story starts with four old timers looking up a patient in a hospital with the intention of murdering him, which must reminds you of The Godfather (when the Don is in hospital). When it comes to light that this is all a misunderstanding, the five reminiscent on the good old days and head out to look for their old hide out which stores for them so much treasured memory. You've got it – the hideout, or where it used to be, is the cafeteria. While they are enjoying a beer there, they decide to do just one more job, for old time's sake. They choose a bank that they have robbed 3 times before, thinking that it would be a cinch, only to find that this place is now something else.In full circle we come to an epilogue, back to a continuation of the first story, learning more about the would-be robber and the waitress. What's more, they are made for each other. The end credit rolls while we follow a continuous long take of them, from the back, walking side by side along the highway. They didn't hold hands but their shoulders occasionally brush each other. That is so sweet. So is the five old timers' reminiscing.An enchanting gem, this movie is.

This was the first movie we saw at Sundance this year, and we really did enjoy it. It's not a laugh riot from beginning to end, but its gentle humor amused us, and we were interested enough in the characters to care about the story. This was actually 4 vignettes tied together by a common location. We actually were disappointed that some of the stories were left hanging, so to speak, and we were left to wonder about their characters. Another picky-picky complaint (and perhaps this was just our theater), was that the subtitles got lost in the white counter tops at the bottom of the screen. They were very difficult to read at times. Perhaps a different color font should have been used.

This is a slightly uneven entry with one standout sequence involving an over-the-hill gang reminiscing in the diner that once - thirty years previously - was their hideout; one ho-hum duologue between two ageing rock musos; a noirish kidnap turned on its head and an opening sequence (plus epilogue) involving heist artist wannabe Edward Baer and current 'hot' property Anna Magloulis which has its moments. No movie in which Jean Rochefort appears can be dismissed lightly and here he shines as one of the over-the-hill quintet, indeed the film is worth seeing for Rochefort alone but each of the sequences has something to offer and it's definitely worth a look.

I saw this black and white comedy noir yesterday at the London film Festival. Structurally, it has been compared to Pulp Fiction but it is perhaps closer to the structure of Amores Perros and the slacker mood of Kevin Smith's Clerks. Four stories intersect at a French motorway diner. The first vignette has Franck (Edouard Baer) bungling a hold up at the diner. The waitress, Suzie (Anna Mouglalis) takes pity and tell him her story. The second has two incompetent kidnappers, Leon (Bouli Lanners) and Paul (Serge Lariviere) take a teenage girl from her rich family. Unfortunately for them, she is suicidal and her family don't appear to want her back. The third is a dialogue between two ageing rock stars who bump into each other at the diner (Alain Bashung and Arno playing themselves). The final part is about four ex-criminals who smuggle their old partner out of hospital to visit their old hideout which has since been turned into … the diner. An 'epilogue' returns to Franck and Suzie to complete their story (not really an epilogue, more a conclusion).The structure does not really work. The stories are not sufficiently intertwined as in Pulp Fiction. Nor is the diner crucial to the action to at least two of the stories in the way the car crash was crucial in the four stories of Amores Perros. The quality of the individual stories varies. The hideout story is a cute idea, with a couple of good gags, but does not come off; and the rock star reunion is pointless and dull. On the other hand, the kidnap story is hilarious, although its connection to the diner is tenuous. The most balanced and successful story is the Franck and Suzie one.This film isn't entirely successful but has moments of interest and hilarity. I look forward to seeing more of Writer/director's Samuel Benchetrit's work.