Café Olé

Malcolm's (28) new love, Alicia (25), an illegal Chilean refugee, will be short-lived if he does not make the right choice. The cosy and ever-welcoming Monkland Boulevard in Montreal. Malcolm's entire universe revolves around it, between the video store where he works and the Café Olé, a funky little coffee shop which has grown into his home away from home. He stands at the center of a small constellation of colourful characters, to whom he devotes most of his time: his neighbour Mrs. Baron, who likes to indulge in nostalgic memories of her past while listening to him play the piano; his friend Sal, a lonely widower who shares his passion for the movies; his sad and quiet neighbour Sharon, an abused woman who tries to cope with a jealous husband; and, last but not least, his brother Larry and sister-in-law Karen, who always try to fix him up with the ideal woman. After a series of hopeless dates, he runs into Alicia, a beautiful young Chilean woman who works at a bookstore across town. Before long, he understands that she is the one he has been waiting for his whole life. But Alicia's secret will knock Malcolm's ordered and uneventful little world completely off balance. Soon, he finds himself facing very complex choices. —E. Sher