In his film "Truffe", starring Roy Dupuis (Charles) and Celine Bonnier (Alice), director Kim Nguyen (of the now notable Rebelle) has managed to fashion a bizarre and twisted dystopian tale isolated in a tight-knit suburb of Montreal.
Global Warming has rendered the Hochelaga district of Montreal a hotbed for black truffle production- bringing prosperity to the community and many of the locals.
But not all is well in Hochelaga. The truffle boom has made prices bottom out, mostly due to the influence of a major "fur collar" corporation that has been attracted to the area with hopes of monopolizing the towns truffle supply and industry.
The corporation is, in fact, controlled by a couple of humanoid mink-controlled robots who have enslaved the local populace with parasitic mink that live in and control their hosts from their stomachs, which they've entered via the consumption of tainted cans of corporate truffles.
The locals are then utilized- by their mink overlords, who themselves seem to be under some sort of mind control- to harvest, process, can and deliver tuffles to the local consumers (in extreme kafkaesque fashion).
The corporation does have some local competition though- in the olfactory adept Charles aka "The Truffle King", whose keen sense of smell has allowed him to become a master truffle harvester. Meanwhile, his wife- Alice- runs a small cafe that serves mostly truffle-based dishes.
The plot develops when the robotic humanoid CEO's of the corporation attempt to bond and enslave Charles- with hopes of reaping the benefits of his harvesting skills- by first exploiting his dwindling financial situation (which they are largely responsible for). They not only manage to entrap him, but his parents too!
With Charles' new "job" he starts to neglect Alice- whose cafe is suffering from the lax supply in fresh truffles. A direct result of her husband harvesting for the corporation instead of themselves.
Distraught, Alice sets out to get her man back and save their business in the process.
She manages to break into the company's headquarters, where she witnesses, first hand, how the local population has been enslaved and indoctrinated by the mink-controlled robot humanoids.
When an attempt is made on her life, it's the last stand. Time to really fight back.
Wielding a board-with-nails she sets out to defeat these parasitic invaders and free her beloved Charles...oh, and, unwittingly saving the town while she's at it, of course.
"Truffe" is a truly bizarre and imaginative film that is both humorous and thought-provoking, not to mention stylish. An excellent first feature from a director who has already established himself as a pre-eminent name among Canada's new generation of filmmakers. In the end, "Truffe" is a short, but sweet, little cult dystopian gem. Be sure to check it out! 7 out of 10. If you enjoy this, you may want to check out Brandon (Son of David) Cronenberg's "Antiviral", which is also excellent.
