French
France
Moka, an elegantly psychological Chabrol-esque thriller, gets its name from the colour of the vintage automobile that struck and killed Diane Cramer’s son in a hit-and-run accident. Diane (Emmanuelle Devos in one of her finest roles), still deep in mourning and furious at the inability of police to trace the guilty party, is confined to a lakeside sanatorium in Lausanne, Switzerland. She investigates on her own, the only clues – a mocha Mercedes with a blonde at the wheel. Her obsessive and vengeful hunt leads her to Marlène (Nathalie Baye), who runs a perfume shop across the lake in Evian, France.
Director Frédéric Mermoud brings us a superb adaptation of Tatiana de Rosnay’s eponymous novel.