Directed by Benoit Graffin, co-written by Andre Techine (Alice et Martin, Les Egares), a director I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and based on the short novel by Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky) Beach Café is a film that transports its viewers to modern day Morocco and rather successfully follows the brief friendship between two men.

Director Benoit Graffin, who was also the co-writer of the script to Beach Café, is rather unknown to North American audiences. His only other project that will soon see the light of day in America is the Cesar nominated comedy Apre-Vous for which Graffin also co-wrote the script. In addition, Graffin directed the well-received 1999 bitter-sweet love story Le New Yorker which also happens to be his directorial debut.

Set among the beautiful sand beaches of Morocco Beach Café (Café de la Plage) is very much a character study of a young man, Driss (Ouassini Embarek), and his relationship with a disgruntled older man, Fouad (Jacques Nolot) running a picturesque yet desolate café.
Driss attempts to gain the friendship of Fouad who at first seems receptive to Driss' initiations but consequently becomes more and more distant. Driss often brings kif (marijuana) to the café and for awhile it seems like Fouad might succumb to the young man's initiations. As time progresses, however, and Driss learns more about Fouad's past the two men find less in common and their lives take separate directions.

Beside the façade of a film that has a rather familiar plot director Benoit Griffin has created an interesting portrait of two generations of Morocan men that seem to accurately describe the age conflict in this modern-day African country. There is the young and willing to explore Driss, a man with big ambitions and quite frankly rather naïve perception about life, and the older Fouad, who is often consumed by his own memories and a life that no longer has a purpose. While both men attempt to find a common ground the film manages to partially give its viewers a glimpse of what Moroccan youth has to face on a daily basis, unemployment, drugs, and lack of acceptance by an older and much more traditional Muslim society.

Beach Café is without a doubt an utterly atmospheric film that often relies more on the strength of its cinematography than on the attractiveness of its story line. Strangely enough I caught myself comparing the visual style of Benoit Graffin with that of Spanish director Carlos Saura. The melancholic Mediterranean guitar solos often heard throughout the film combined with the prolonged shots of Graffin's camera are indeed truly captivating. They are reminiscent of the manner in which Saura tends to immerse its viewers in picturesque locations from Spain's countryside and leave its stories to develop on its own.

Although Beach Café successfully captures the aura of Mediterranean Morocco it does fall short of becoming a memorable viewing experience. The pacing of the film is a tad too slow and often relies too much on style over substance. On the other hand the film works extremely well with its poetic beauty and will certainly appeal to those that are accustomed to the refined complexity of French cinema.

How Does the Film Look? Picture This Entertainment have delivered a very good looking print of the film presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The DVD is enhanced for widescreen TV's. The image is exceptionally strong with only occasional flickering visible through the bright beach scenes. Contrast and color saturation appear well-handled. In French with optional English subtitles.

How Does the Film Sound? The DVD offers the options of both 5.1 and 2.0 sound mixes. The 5.1 mix is especially well made as it brings depth and transparency to the beautiful Mediterranean soundtrack. Dialog appears easy to hear and it is well-balanced with the music to the film. Overall, there are no faults that one should be concerned about.

Extras: The only extra material on the disc is a gallery of upcoming Picture This releases.

Final Thoughts: Beach Café is a very interesting film from a young French director which obviously is yet to reach its full potential. The film recreates a captivating portrait of modern-day Morocco while attempting to follow the short friendship between two men with different understandings about life. RECOMMENDED.