“French Roast” is a subtle, gently humorous animated short film directed by French filmmaker Fabrice O. Joubert. The film won many awards this year, and is now shortlisted in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.
The film is set entirely inside a small Parisian café, where a rather aloof cigar-smoking gentlemen is about to pay the check when he suddenly discovers that his wallet has disappeared. From then on, the film farcically reveals the gradual evaporation of the gentleman’s unfriendly pomposity. Attempting to stall for time, he decides to order some more coffee. Very many cups of coffee later, as his bill quickly mounts up, he’s still rooted to the same spot in mortification, when a little old lady sitting next to him appears to have ample cash to donate to a wild looking vagrant. Her bag is stuffed full of banknotes and looks quite inviting, but events quickly take a turn for the worse when the police arrive.
