Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
This Academy-Award-nominated short film centers around a businessman who sadly forgot his purse. So there he is the "poor" fella sitting at a café ordering coffee after coffee to avoid the waiter getting him the invoice. Which is constantly rising this way of course. Thankfully he's not alone at the café. There's a sleepy old God-devoted lady next to him with a whole bunch of banknotes in her bag. Oh no, he won't. Or will he?This film thrives mostly through the character animation. Joubert, the director, succeeds in making all five characters compelling to watch thanks to his fixation on detail. You almost regret you can't focus on several characters at the same time occasionally as their actions are so interesting to watch. I liked the first half of the eight minutes a bit more than the second, but it's suffering on a high level. It surely is a good short film that leaves us with a catchy tune and a noble message. Oh and don't worry it says Language French, there's only two sentences or so actually spoken, so you'll have no trouble understanding everything.
Rectangular_businessman
I liked a lot this short: While the story could be seem as something way too simple, it was still very enjoyable to watch anyway, mostly because of the great visual quality that this little animation had, with very stylish designs which are very pleasant to see and a high level of detail in the sceneries and textures."French Roast" also has an interesting message of how people could not everything is what it seems at first sight, and how help could came from the most unexpected people. The result, without being a masterpiece, is certainly more than worth-watching, due the clever execution of the plot, and more than anything, because of the nice animation.
MartinHafer
This is the third straight year that I have gone to the local theater to view the Oscar-nominated animated shorts. And, like the past two years, I am going to make my predictions about the winner in this category. I would say, however, my record isn't great when it comes to the animated films--I seem to be better at picking the live action shorts instead. However, I don't think I'm stepping out on a limb at all to say that it's highly unlikely FRENCH ROAST will take the top prize. This isn't to say that it's a bad film--it isn't bad at all and I definitely enjoyed it. It's just that there were a few that really stood out much more and seemed to be THE films to beat--in particular, THE LADY AND THE REAPER and LOGORAMA.I seemed to enjoy this film more than my daughter (who I took with me to see them). She said it was "easy to forget" but I appreciated much of it. The CG animation was very nice as was the character design.As for the story, though slight, it made me laugh and was enjoyable from start to finish. It starts by showing a very dirty hobo walking the streets with a cloud of bugs following him. Inside the nearby café, a snooty looking guy pretends not to see the man when he then enters the café to beg for money. What happens next is pretty funny and I won't say any more--it would spoil the film.Well worth seeing and very well made.
Gordon-11
This Oscar nominated short animation is about a businessman who goes into a café for a cup of coffee. He finds out he doesn't have his wallet when he is about to pay. he has to find ways to come up with money to foot the bill."French Roast" is simple, yet well made. The quality of the animation is good, with well designed backgrounds and humorously designed characters. The story nicely captures the psychology of everyday life, about how people react to beggars and about how good people feel about doing bad. The ending twist is also comical, and yet illustrates how a random act of kindness can make a difference to another person. I enjoyed watching "French Roast".
AD
