Moka (Frédéric Mermoud, 2016): France | Switzerland

Reviewed by Stephen Clark. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival in Metropolitan Film Festival

Moka conveys the story of a mourning woman seeking closure as she pursues the suspected driver of the hit-and-run murder of her son. She spends her waking moments searching for a “Mocha” colored Mercedes-Benz and the described blonde haired woman that was seen in the car at the scene. The protagonist Diane Ron disguised with he alias “Hélène”  inquires about the mocha colored Mercedes that she notices is for sale. Much to her surprise the woman who drives the car has blonde hair and similar to the woman described in a tip she received. Hélène spends the next days shadowing the blonde haired woman who goes by Marlène. Hélène follows her to the beauty salon that she owns and takes advantage of the situation and gets a makeover to get more personal with Marlène. Hélène wants to find more and she investigates further into her and the husband who works as a trainer at a wellness facility. She shows up at the workplace of the husband and is extremely persistent about purchasing the Mercedes.

The Film proceeds with many scenes with Diane “Hélène” pursuing and even stalking the couple who owns the car. Most of the film is uneventful as Hélène is making an effort to remain stealthy while tracking the couple and their daughter.

I saw the film at the Metropolitan Metro 4 Theatre during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2017. The motion picture is directed by Frédéric Mermoud and takes place in modern day Switzerland and France. The cinematography is done by Irina Lubtchansky and she does a great job of creating scenes and shots hat portray the elegant lakeside city of Montreux, the rest of Switzerland, and the mountainous villages of northern France.

I would recommend this movie based on the breathtaking cinematography and I think the film was a success by the way the film was shot exceptionally. However, I wouldn’t say that Moka is a must see film by any standards as the plot lacked substance and the ending did not provoke any sort of deep reflection and this film did not stick in my mind as significant.