Robert Reynolds This short was deservedly nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:If and when you watch this short, take a moment to watch what's going on behind the man drinking all the coffee in the booth. It's a mirror behind him in which you see a reflection of the street outside the window the man is facing, as well as the characters passing in front of the mirror inside the café. The animation is excellent here.This short focuses on the interactions of several characters with each other, in particular one well-to-do gentleman who is drinking coffee and reading the financial section of a newspaper. The other principals are a vagabond collecting scraps of paper and begging for change, a waiter, an old woman sitting next to the man and a man who comes in to post a wanted poster of a bank robber. All of these intersect to one degree or another.The man drinking coffee finds early on that he hasn't got his wallet and cannot pay for his coffee. Instead of admitting this, he simply continues drinking coffee and digging himself in deeper. He has several encounters with the vagabond, who hits him up for change and whom he ignores.The old lady, napping until the vagabond importunes her, pulls out a wrapped bundle of banknotes and gives one to the vagabond, who treats it like just another bit of scrap paper. The old lady goes to the bathroom. The well dressed man considers taking money from her purse, but fate and circumstances foil him more than once.Enter the man posting the wanted poster. The next scene, it's now dark, the man who posted the poster is now asleep, snoring loudly and leaning into the well dressed and now desperate man, who reaches into the old lady's purse, pulls out something and causes bedlam in doing so. I won't spoil this part.The end of the short is perfect, with the moment of reckoning turning into a moment of resolution just ambiguous enough for the viewer to draw their own conclusions while the look on the face of a man pulled from outright despair by an unlikely source (certainly in his eyes) and leaving him with much to consider.This short is well worth seeking out. Most highly recommended.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) 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.

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.

elsinefilo French Roast is an 8 minute cinematic tour-de-force which you would find original and genuinely spontaneous. In a posh French café an upper crust businessman who looks nervous and easily annoyed enjoys his coffee while he reads his newspaper. When he happens to be accosted by a beggar at his table he just pretends he has not even seen him. The beggar with his disheveled hair attracting flies all around,tattered clothes and his fairly versatile stick does not mind him at all. The moment the beggar leaves the café the businessman notices that he has not his wallet with him so he just bides more time by ordering more coffees. On the next frame we see a fat police detective put up a wanted notice (avis de recherche)on the wall of the café. The businessman who gets more and more uptight as the minutes go by realizes the woman next to his table. When the beggar comes to the café the second time, the old and sleepy woman gives him a banknote out of a thick roll of money. When she goes to the bathroom she leaves her bag behind. The nervous businessman tries to pilfer some petty cash from her bag only to find a mask just like the one depicted on the wanted notice. When the tipsy detective misfires his gun,the beggar trips revealing all the money in his pockets while the old lady gets back from the bathroom and leaves the café as if nothing has happened there. The businessman is still saved by a banknote left by the cunning beggar. French Roast is indeed one of the best short animations with this plot. It has the requisite twists and turns of a short animation. It's funny entertaining and exquisite.The animation is cool, quality and genuine.It's an absolute must-see and it deserves the Academy Award nomination!