Truffe (2007)

59% of users liked it
(211 ratings)

A man follows his nose into a strange and dangerous conspiracy in this offbeat sci-fi comedy/drama from writer and director Kim Nguyen. In the near future, global warming has had an unexpected side effect in Montreal -- while truffles have sometimes been found growing in underground caverns, the… More A man follows his nose into a strange and dangerous conspiracy in this offbeat sci-fi comedy/drama from writer and director Kim Nguyen. In the near future, global warming has had an unexpected side effect in Montreal -- while truffles have sometimes been found growing in underground caverns, the higher temperatures have caused them to spread as they never have before. Charles (Roy Dupuis) is a truffle hunter with an unusually keen nose, and he has a remarkable gift for finding the delectable edible fungus. Charles and his wife Alice (Céline Bonnier) make use of his talent by running a small restaurant where connoisseurs can taste the fruit of his labors. But there isn't as much money in finding truffles as Charles would hope, and when his abilities come to the attention to a mysterious fur company, he's willing to accept a lucrative business proposal. But Charles doesn't know just what he's looking for at first, and when he finds out, he discovers he's involved in a nefarious scheme with not just international but interstellar implications. Truffe receives its United States premiere at the 2009 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated,
Directed By: Kim Nguyen
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 3, 2008 Wide

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Featured Audience Ratings

Laurence C

Nguyen's second feature lenght film is an almost complete success on its terms-- well, at least on what it was trying to achieve. Indeed, there are no place for wordy monologues nor for overacting in any sense of the term in Truffe. It's incredibly subtle, even with the… More
Nguyen's second feature lenght film is an almost complete success on its terms-- well, at least on what it was trying to achieve. Indeed, there are no place for wordy monologues nor for overacting in any sense of the term in Truffe. It's incredibly subtle, even with the presence of Critters-ish creatures whose methodic rampage is both underplayed and grotesque. It's also nice to look at, of course. When the plot falters a bit and loses its momentum, the beauty of the images catches us back. Alternately playing the juicy B-Movie and the German expressionism card, Nguyen's directorial choices are never less than very intriguing. Alas, it's not terribly compelling. Despite the cast's best efforts (Dupuis and Bonnier, backed by a flawless stage direction, still amaze), it's more about the show than the plot. The screenplay being more a social commentary than an actual story, it's quite hard to find ourselves completely drawn in by what's happening, except maybe when Bonnier's Alice wanders through dimly lit corporation corridors with a plank full of rusty nails. Also, the climactic fight scene only roars for one tremendously exciting minute. It's a shame it deflates so quickly after such an effective slow burn of a film. But hey, complaining about the lack of action in Truffe would be like asking for an MP3 player on a sublime painting. It's a strong film, even if one can't really shake off the feeling that it's barely among the best of Nguyen's future work. See it.