A simple job is given to two criminal idiots who proceed in botching it up every way possible in the action comedy Kafou. Check out our review right here on Screen Critix.
It’s fair to say that we don’t get many films sent our way from Haiti, in fact, Kafou may be the first. Now, after having the pleasure of sitting through Bruno Mourral’s rather brilliant fifty-minute romp, we hope we are given more Haiti classics to review.
When Fritz Bama (Manfred Marcelin), who is a Captain in the police and also a criminal overlord, needs a job doing, he decides to hire to rather inept characters in Zoe (Rolapthon Mercure) and Doc (Jasmuel Andri). He wants them to pick up a car at two in the morning and take the car to a destination by five AM. He also gives them three important rules – 1) Don’t open the windows. 2) Don’t open the trunk. And 3) Don’t stop the car. Simple rules, yet Doc and Zoe break all three within a few minutes of starting their journey, which leads to a catastrophe of a job and a disastrous night.
The premise of Kafou may seem delectably dark, yet Mourral wisely adds a clever, and sometimes slapstick, comedy element to the proceedings, all of which will make you laugh and smile throughout. Both Mercure and Andri have great screen presence and comedy timing. They sort of reminded me of a Haitian Laurel and Hardy playing wannabe gangsters who can’t help muck up at every turn.
What is obvious from the start, is how professional Kafou is. It looks stunning with fantastic cinematography and slick editing effects. The sound design is fantastically done as well, with every gunshot, bump, crash and smack coming through crisply. Everything about Kafou is polished. It’s just a very well-crafted short film made by some dedicated and talented people.
I totally enjoyed Kafou. Some people may balk at a fifty minute short, but I could have watched another forty minutes and still loved it. Definitely recommended.
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