CAFE AU LAIT
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
CAFE AU LAIT (aka METISSE)
Rating (0 to 10): 7.2
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:34 Rated: No MPAA Rating (Language, mature themes, nudity)
Starring: Julie Mauduech, Hubert Kounde, Mathieu Kassovitz, Brigitte Bemol,
Eloise Rauth
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Producer: Christophe Rossignon
Screenplay: Mathieu Kassovitz
Cinematography: Pierre Aim
Music: Marie Daulne and Jean-Louis Daulne
Released by New Yorker Films
In French with subtitles
"Some people say [CAFE AU LAIT] is racist because they don"t like to hear people saying 'dirty Jew' or 'dirty black' or 'dirty Arab,' but that's the way it is. That's the way people talk. I'm not going to moralize. I'm not going to say, 'Don't be a racist.' Anyway, I don't think people are racist. But we all have racist reactions. Little things set off a clash and then everyone takes a position." - Mathieu Kassovitz, writer/director of CAFE AU LAIT
The original title of CAFE AU LAIT, a droll, occasionally innovative comedy from first-time French director Mathieu Kassovitz, was METISSE. Literally translated, "metisse" means a female half-breed. While CAFE AU LAIT is perhaps more poetic, METISSE is more to the point. In either case, the title refers to the film's main character, a light-brown-skinned woman by the name of Lola (Julie Mauduech).
Lola has two lovers: Jamal (Hubert Kounde) and Felix (Matthew Kassovitz), neither of whom knows about the other and both of whom Lola claims to love. The pair of men are diametric opposites. In a flip-flop of traditional racial stereotypes, Jamal, a black Muslim, is urbane, wealthy, and intelligent; while Felix, a white Jew, is unkempt, poor, and uncultured. It's shoes versus sneakers, suits and ties versus sweatsuits, and Wagner versus rap.
Complications arise when Lola invites both Jamal and Felix to her apartment at the same time on the same evening. Not only do they meet each other, but they learn that Lola has a little surprise: she's pregnant, and she doesn't know which of them has fathered the child. Needless to say, neither has a moderated initial response.
After careful consideration, however, both Jamal and Felix realize that they want to be part of Lola's life and, to accommodate her wishes, they attempt to put aside their own differences and unite in a rather atypical family situation. The result is not unlike THREE MEN AND A CRADLE, except in this case, the baby hasn't arrived yet, and there are only two "fathers."
Part of the reason for CAFE AU LAIT's success is that Kassovitz keeps the tone light. Despite an occasional depiction of racist circumstances, the director avoids creating a "message" movie. There are moments when CAFE AU LAIT turns your attention to the issue (such as when a pair of cops think Jamal stole a car because of his skin color), but most of the time the film devotes itself to showing harmony between races rather than discord. When Jamal and Felix toss around racial epithets, the closeness of their relationship dissolves the sting.
The unforced quality of the humor is refreshing. Kassovitz has imbued his script with wit, and sometimes the funniest lines come in the least expected places. On one occasion, Jamal, in an attempt to prove to Lola how much more similar he and she are than she and Felix, makes the impassioned declaration: "*Our* grandparents were slaves." With her characteristic breezy air, Lola counters, "*Your* grandparents were diplomats."
In Lola, Jamal, and Felix, Kassovitz has sculpted a trio of believable characters who are effectively realized through the strength of three solid performances. The players interact well, not only with each other, but with the small group of supporting cast members (the scenes between Felix and his sister Sarah, played by Eloise Rauth, are priceless). And, while Lola's relationships with her two lovers form the basis of the film, it's the bonding between the men that lies at its core.
Although CAFE AU LAIT contains elements of Spike Lee's films (most notably SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT), the movie is by no means derivative. While most of Lee's pictures have an undercurrent of anger and intensity, Kassovitz tries for nothing more imposing than a good-natured serio- comedy. By his own admission, he finds French films boring, and looks for inspiration from the likes of Monty Python and Woody Allen. The fruits of this philosophy are visible here: Kassovitz has something to say, but he uses laughter, rather than something more ponderous, as the medium, and it turns the substance of CAFE AU LAIT into something palatable to digest.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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