The film builds toward the revelation of how the two stories are linked: after Jacqueline, Laurent, and Véronique are killed in a car accident, Carole, Antoine, and Rose are their subsequent reincarnations.

Café de Flore's multi-genre soundtrack includes songs from the Cure, Sigur Ros, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Pink Floyd.

CineAction critic Alsegul Koc describes Valleé's film as "the aftershocks of an amorous earthquake"; a story which "amplifies the horrors and joys of letting go and starting anew".

[6] The Globe and Mail critic Guy Dixon gives the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, describing it as "beautiful" and "intricate", and applauds the performance of Florent, who, in his view, played a large role in weaving the two story lines together.

[10] In a Téléjournal broadcast, Claude Fugère sums up the general opinion of Télérama critics, who called the film a "vaguely esoteric melodrama chock-full of clichés on life, love and death ... a disappointment from the director of the excellent C.R.A.Z.Y..[11] In a similar tone, Hubert Lizé, writing for Le Parisien, gives the film one out of five stars, calling Vallée's work "overly ambitious" and his character development "tiresome" and "frustrating".

"[14] In contrast to other Parisian reviewers, Mathieu Carratier from Première gives the film 3.75/4 stars, praising Vallée music selection by comparing him to a "DJ who mixes different paths together to better grasp the stories which they tell".

Charles Cassady, a reviewer from Video Librarian, gives the film three out of three stars, uplifting its "bittersweet mise-en-scène, which thankfully never tips into horror/suspense or becomes carried away with f/x, instead offering a mature and wise (if a little male wish-fulfillment-tinged) take on themes of 'soulmates' and the limitations of love".

[18] Variety's Boyd van Hoeij salutes the film's casting, but deems Café de Flore unoriginal, noting that "Vallée has taken what made C.R.A.Z.Y so successful, and simply tried to replicate it on a slightly larger scale.