Café Au Lait (aka Métisse/1993/France)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: B-
Mathieu Kassovitz’s unique comic/dramatic love triangle Café
Au Lait (1993) has gained added dimension in the tale of a beautiful young
woman named Lola (Julie Mauduech) who becomes pregnant, but does not know who
the father is. The twist here is to
whether it is diehard Black Muslim Jamal (Hubert Koundé) or the young Jewish
man who does bike messaging Felix (Kassovitz, also turning in a fine acting
performance) who is the actual father.
Yes, this sounds roughly inspired by Spike Lee’s 1986 breakthrough
feature She’s Gotta Have It, which we are all still waiting for on DVD,
but this is not a bad film.
The problem is that Kassovitz overdoes all the yelling,
fighting, hitting and being hit for his character, which knocks the film’s
credibility down a notch that it did not need to suffer from. There are a series of fine supporting
performances from mostly unknown cast, though many will recognize Vincent
Cassel as Felix’s friend Max. There is
no doubt of Kassovitz’s talents, as recently demonstrated in the underrated
thriller Gothika (2004) with Halle Berry, but Café Au Lait works
well for its low budget, despite some rough spots. Its ability to deal with race is nicely handled as well.
The letterboxed 1.66 X 1 image could and should have been
anamorphic, while the optional English subtitles will get cut off if you zoom
in with a 16 X 9 playback monitor or projector. Cinematographer Pierre Aim handles the framing well, in what we
could call always “nearly” claustrophobic, suggesting the characters are as
trapped as they allow their dysfunctional behavior to let them be. The Dolby Digital is here in 5.1 and 2.0
Stereo mixes, with the 5.1 faring a little better. This was a stereo-only release, optical analog at best, since no
major sound system was listed in the credits or has been related to it
anywhere. Extras are all trailers,
including one for this and over a half-dozen more for other Koch Lorber DVD
releases. Though no masterwork of
cinema, Café Au Lait is worth a look, an enjoyable experience from a
filmmaker slowly on the rise.
- Nicholas Sheffo
