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Film: A Very Long Engagement
Release date: 2nd January 2006
Certificate: 15
Running time: 134 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Chantal Neuwirth, André Dussollier
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance/War
Studio: Warner
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
Disallowed from becoming a candidate for the Cannes Film Festival, due to it being screened outside of France, and deemed "too American" to receive French subsidies by a Paris court, the release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement was not without its fair share of controversy.
Combining beautiful cinematography with the backdrop of WWI France, A Very Long Engagement explores the beauty of hope and the absurdity of war. The film begins with the story of five soldiers who are court-martialled for injuries they inflict upon themselves in the hope that they'll be dismissed from service. The five men are sentenced to death and thrown into the no man's land between the French and German trenches.
All five men are reported to have perished, but Mathilde (Audrey Tautou), the fiancée of Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), one of the men sent over the top, refuses to believe this is the case. "If Manech were dead," the narrator explains, "Mathilde would know."
Following her intuition, Mathilde embarks on a quest to find out what became of her beloved fiancée. Talking to survivors and the widows of men killed during the war, she slowly pieces together an intricate puzzle that draws her ever closer to Manech. A Very Long Engagement depicts the lengths an individual is willing to go to for love and the manner in which war destroys the lives of all that come into contact with it…
Jean-Pierre Jeunet has achieved something rather interesting with A Very Long Engagement. The film combines elements of comedy and romance, as seen in Amelie, with some rather serious subject matter. Whilst the film maintains the quirky, comic feel of Jeunet's previous films, it manages to paint an incredibly impressive portrait of the horrors of war.
Some of the film's most visually arresting moments come during the WWI battle scenes, which, whilst offering the odd offbeat, comic moment, give a haunting sense of the absurdity of war. Jeunet uncharacteristically employs the use of some rather gruesome violence, which helps to counteract the otherwise upbeat feel of the film. Sweeping shots capture waves of men racing up over the trenches, only to be met with a continuous spray of bullets from German machine guns. Despite the mix of quirky characters and weirdly wonderful scenes, such as a blimp explosion above a makeshift hospital, Jeunet respectfully handles the subject of war.
As always, Jeunet's characters are unconventional and colourful. The cast deliver impressive performances, clearly helped by the fact that most of them have worked with Jeunet on a number of his previous films. These rounded characters work perfectly with the film's script, which, whilst being simple, is brought to life by the diverse range of characters who inhabit it. From Mathilde's dog-flatulence-loving aunt Bénédicte (Chantal Neuwirth) to the aptly labelled “officer killer,” Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard), A Very Long Engagement features an impressive host of wild and wacky characters. Heck, there's even a cameo from actress Jodie Foster, who is surprisingly fluent in French.
Although, there is to be no doubt, as with Jeunet's classic, Amelie, Audrey Tautou steals the show. The film would be nothing without Audrey's vibrant, loveable performance as Mathilde. Audrey draws us in and helps to make Mathilde's quest to find her fiancée a moving and memorable experience. A weak performance from the lead role in A Very Long Engagement would have surely seen the demise of the entire film, but Audrey pulls it off beautifully.
The argument that A Very Long Engagement feels like an American film appears to have some merit. The film's high budget certainly sets it apart from Jeunet's other works, such as Delicatessen (or even Amelie, for that matter), but that is not to say the film's budget negatively effects the quality of the film. A Very Long Engagement retains the style of Jeunet's previous films and, similarly, its success remains indebted to its unique characters. If A Very Long Engagement feels slightly ‘Americanised’ because of its high budget, it certainly isn't to its detriment.
A Very Long Engagement's depiction of the indelible marks that war leaves upon everyone it touches, and its story of one woman's quest to find the man she loves, is thoroughly engaging. It doesn't always feel as memorable and original as some of Jeunet's previous films but it does boast all of the classic quirks associated with a Jeunet film, including memorable performances from its wonderful cast and some truly beautiful imagery. ME
Film: The City Of Lost Children
Release date: 30th April 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet
Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France/Germany/Spain
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro are names well known among lovers of foreign art cinema, and this fame is justified by the prestige and quality their films boast. Together, they created the beautifully bleak Delicatessen in 1991, which told the tale of a post-apocalyptic world of beastly butchers and underground groups with vigour. Their next film after Delicatessan was La Cite Des Enfants Perdu, known as The City Of Lost Children in English, which was released in 1995, and entered into that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Like the more recent Hollywood blockbuster Inception, The City Of Lost Children is a story about dreams, and, as with Inception, the story is sometimes confusing yet always intriguing. Krank (Daniel Emilfork), an artificially-created mad scientist resembling a live-action version of Mr. Burns, has found himself aging far too quickly, and realises this is because he does not have the ability to dream. To remedy this, he captures children from a nearby dystopian city to extract their dreams, even if, at the moment, he can only extract their nightmares.
One of these children is the younger brother of a slow-witted circus strongman called One (Ron Perlman in his first major film role). After failing to save his sibling from being seized by the Cyclops’, One finds a group of young orphans who steal for a pair of Siamese twins known as The Octopus (Genevieve Brunet and Odile Malet). One befriends one of these children, a girl named Miette (Judith Vittet), and they work together to find One’s little brother, while trying to evade the Octopus and Krank’s aids…
While the film itself may not be appropriate for children, the story may at first seem like the type of thing one would expect from a children’s movie. The childlikeness of the story works in the film’s favour, as the contrast between this and the more disturbing elements, like the misshapen machinery and devilish cults, help the film achieve a fantastical quality appropriate for a story revolving around dreams. That contrast is superbly highlighted in the film’s opening scene, where a festive scene of a child meeting Santa comes undone when more Santas arrive - these more devious and wicked, as the screen distorts and warps.
What also helps the film’s dreamlike quality is its visual motifs, creating a world that is surreal yet believable. The majority of the scenes are bathed in a diseased yellow, filling the scenes with a sick light that still allows for plenty of shadows. The titular city is a grisly metropolis filled with filthy, twisted buildings and framed by a sea of slime, and Krank’s quarters are a grim mixture of an old submarine and the typical mad scientist laboratory. A lot of imagination has gone into the creation of this film, and the visuals show it.
Sadly, however, at times, it feels like too much imagination has been used, which leads to ridiculous scenes like One and Miette being tied up in a cartoonish amount of rope, and how a single tear from Miette’s eye sets off a chain reaction that ends up saving her from a brainwashed One. Most of the time, the lack of realism works for the film and its theme, but scenes like these tend to distract from the story rather than add to it. At least the special effects used to create them look good, save for some false-looking fleas.
Of special note is the film’s soundtrack, created by constant David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti. The score of the film perfectly accentuates what is happening on screen, especially the haunting tones it produces during the story’s more solemn, emotional moments. There is also effective use made of the lack of music in some scenes as well - a scene with the Octopus is accompanied by only the ticking of a clock to sinister effect. The theme song of the film, sung by Marianne Faithfull, is also a beautifully performed, yet melancholy piece - a perfect summary of the story.
It is not just the sets and music that make The City Of Lost Children come alive, for what would this hellish city be without its hellish citizens? Ron Perlman is generally serviceable as One, but still less than impressive. The character he is portraying may not be all that intelligent, but scenes like his tantrum at losing his little brother, and the obligatory loud ‘No!’ he screams after believing Miette to be dead make it hard to take him seriously. Judith Vittet, however, is perfectly cast as One’s aid, bringing the role a good amount of cynicism and seriousness, yet with some compassion as well. Daniel Emilfork crafts the greatest performance as Krank, bringing a truly cruel and vicious villain, yet also creating some sympathy for the character in the vein of Edward Scissorhands. The children of the film are effective and never annoying - both actresses playing the Octopus complement each other and bring an air of stern villainy, and Krank’s assistants – his ‘brothers’, a female dwarf and a living brain – are fine accompaniments for the villain.
The City Of Lost Children may not be for everyone; those seeking realism and a plot that is simple to follow may not enjoy it. Some elements of the film may be ridiculous, but it is, on the whole, a well-made film with fine acting and set design, which is beautiful because it is so ugly. GB
Film: The City Of Lost Children
Release date: 30th April 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet
Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France/Germany/Spain
Belgian directing duo Caro and Jeunet made a dramatic entry into French cinema with the highly acclaimed cult movie Delicatessen, yet their follow-up movie, and their final collaboration, is rarely mentioned in comparison. Does it deserve to be heralded as a beguiling fantasy, or will it forever remain a curio just too bizarre to be truly recognised on its own merits?
Set in a dark, dystopic naval village, the narrative follows circus strongman One (Perlman) who’s little brother is kidnapped by evil scientist Krank (Emilfork). Krank is in the process of stealing children’s dreams in the hope that they will slow down his rapid aging process, as he is himself unable to dream. Assisting Krank in this diabolical scheme is an assortment of strange characters, including Uncle Irvin, a talking brain located in a tank, and six clones who all suffer from falling asleep at inappropriate times (Pinon).
As One desperately attempts to find his brother, he falls in with a group of street urchins working as thieves and pickpockets. However, they are being controlled by conjoined twins known as the Octopus, who are given all the jewels and money at the end of the day by the frightened children. The smartest and most mature of the urchins, Miette (Vittet) takes a shine to One and runs away with him to assist in his mission. The Octopus is not prepared to let one of their best thieves just walk away, however, and hires the Cyclops gang to track her down...
The opening two scenes in The City Of Lost Children efficiently establish the tone of the film straight away. From the surreal opening dream sequence, where a visit from a sweet and gentle Santa, one of the iconic images of childhood, is gradually distorted and twisted until it ends with a child crying and a old man screaming, we cut straight to our protagonist working at his job – in the circus. This would be a suitable permanent location, as the film is constantly populated by unforgettable characters that would not be out of place in a carnival of freaks.
Caro and Jeunet are not the only ones responsible for such memorable and extraordinary imagery: assisting them is a truly heavyweight production crew, which includes costumes by Jean-Paul Gaultier, who provides far more striking and less silly garments than those that he did for The Fifth Element a couple of years later. Darius Khondji’s camera swoops and glides through shots effortlessly, while regular Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti’s score is perfect for creating the dark tone and atmosphere prevalent throughout.
The blend of a directing team on top form and the available quality in the crew combine to conjure up ideas and images that have rarely been seen in cinema. A virtuoso sequence which starts by following a flea on its journey and ends in a Rube Goldberg-esque large scale disaster; a visually stunning meeting-room of monstrous businessmen; and almost any scene involving Uncle Irvin – dripping with flamboyance and panache. The film is one of the most expensive in French cinema history, and it shows. In fact, it is a testament to the work done by Caro and Jeunet that the film looks even more expensive than its actual impressive budget.
It would have been understandable if the actors would have been reduced to mere line recitations while the viewers’ eyes boggle at the scenery around them. Thankfully, the actors rise to the challenge and actually enrich the experience. Perlman didn’t speak French at the time of filming, yet learned all his lines in the language specifically for the film. This actually aids his performance, as his halting, almost monosyllabic delivery gives One a childlike quality in stark contrast to his hulking physicality. Perlman’s early roles in small foreign films such as this and Cronos were interesting career choices, and appropriate for his unusual appearance.
Judith Vittet is luminous as little Miette, and gives one of the finest child performances in recent times. Indeed, a suitable comparison is Natalie Portman in Leon, a film that shares similarities with The City Of Lost Children in terms of the moral ambiguity of its central relationship. Miette and One are diametrically opposed in terms of appearance and age, yet their mental connection becomes increasingly close until it almost becomes romantic. Wisely, Caro and Jeunet do not concentrate on this aspect of the film, instead leaving it open to interpretation.
The central, constant location of the film, Krank’s laboratory, is where the real off-the-wall character acting is to be found. Emilfork plays Krank wonderfully, emphasising his disgusting physical aspects at first, then slowly revealing more subtle details about himself as an individual until our loathing is mixed slightly with pity. Pinon shoulders most of the slapstick responsibility in the film, and it is to his credit that he also adds layers of emotional depth to the clones while channelling elements of Jerry Lewis and Jacques Tati so effectively. Pinon followed Jeunet to his next production, Alien: Resurrection, yet his career never soared as majestically as it should have, judging by his superb work here.
Yet the film is not without its weaknesses. The plot is not as focused as Delicatessen, and gets confusingly convoluted in the middle. However, once the central quest is re-established, and we race towards the climax, the film builds towards a satisfying, if slightly rushed denouement.
A dark and twisted fantasy that is vividly brought to life by both cast and crew, The City Of Lost Children combines elements of the work of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton with a Gallic sensibility that sets it apart from other films in the fantasy genre. It may not always be the most coherent movie you will ever see; yet there is always a visual or acting delight to keep the eye occupied. Hopefully, the film will one day be reappraised and applauded for its ambition, and, above all, the directors’ commitment to ideas.
Film: Delicatessen
Release date: 13th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro
Starring: Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Pascal Benezech, Karin Viard
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: Blu-ray
Country: France
The bizarro team of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro (in their debut) present the idiosyncrasies of post-apocalyptic French life where cannibalism, musical monkeys and a malevolent postman are just part of the everyday.
Clapet is a butcher; he also owns his own apartment building, where the tenants rely on him as their only source of sustenance. In this ambiguous world where “nothing grows anymore”, Clapet has only one source for his wares. Unfortunately, this method tends to mean that his building never gets any serious maintenance work done.
Louison, an unemployed Circus Clown, is the latest tenant/caretaker/victim, and his sweet nature causes him to form a romance with Clapet’s daughter, Julie.
In a bid to save Louison’s life, Julie plots with the Troglodistes, a group of Vegetarian freedom fighters to end her father’s reign of terror for good…
The plot is only half the story; Jeunet and Caro are more interested in style and character. A mix of Lynchian nightmare and Gilliamesque chaos, Delicatessen is as oddball an experience as one could hope to see. The outside world is barely viewed, and when it is, it is shrouded in thick fog (probably as much due to budgetary constraints as artistic vision), and so what we do see is a strange group of people, living in a strange house in a world we don’t fully understand. Amongst the group is an old man who keeps his room like a swamp (complete with live frogs) to attract snails for him to eat, a pair of brothers who manufacture “moo boxes,” and a woman who can’t commit suicide because of faulty plumbing.
This plethora of eccentrics add nothing whatsoever to the aforementioned plot, but they do assist in adding detail to a rounded world that as an audience we don’t mind spending ninety minutes in - which makes things far more exciting than your average plot mechanics.
With so much wall to wall quirk, it would be easy for the film to lose its heart; thankfully Jeunet and Caro are too smart for that, and have created the chaste romance between Louison and Julie, a courtship so sweet and so timid that we’re left with no choice but to root for them from the start.
Highlights include Louison and Mademoiselle Plusse (Clapet’s ‘lover’ - a term used as loosely as possible) testing the bed to find the creaky spring (not as smutty as it sounds), and a gloriously absurd moment where the tenants are almost dancing in unison as they go about their daily routine (to the sound of the abovementioned spring, no less).
Jeunet went on to added fame ten years later with the critically acclaimed Amelie, and his more recent output (A Very Long Engagement, Micmacs) proves that he hasn’t lost his eye for offbeat weirdness, but as with many artists with a singular vision, it is hard to forget what is was like to see them at work for the very first time.
Delicatessen isn’t perfect, it loses it’s way towards the end as the need for a resolution becomes necessary (Pixar’s WALL-E actually springs to mind), but it is a thing of absolute beauty, and even at nineteen years of age it looks stunning on Blu-ray, proving that if a film is well shot it can be spruced up just as beautifully as the latest hi-definition releases. And most importantly, like Delicatessen’s own setting, can be absolutely timeless.
As gorgeous a film as you’re ever likely to see - with enough charm to make the nonsense work. The thinness of the plot is actually a plus, and the inherent sweetness is enough to disarm even the sternest of viewers. SEAN
Film: Amelie
Release date: 15th April 2002
Certificate: 15
Running time: 116 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Dominique Pinon,
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: France
Rejected by the Cannes Film Festival for being “uninteresting,” but welcomed by the hearts of the French and Francophile alike, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie is a rare exception to the rulebook of foreign cinema. Despite the original setback, the whimsical story of a lonely Parisian waitress has gone on to be nominated for five academy awards and won the Cesar for Best Film.
A departure from Jeunet’s cannibalistic black comedy Delicatessen, Amelie details the life of shy waitress, Amelie Poulain (Tautou), who, rather than drunkenly gallivanting about town every weekend like most girls her age, prefers a simpler existence filled with simple pleasures, such as skimming stones, immersing her hands into sacks of grain and cracking the crust of her crème brulee.
In shock from the death of Princess Diana, Amelie inadvertently discovers a childhood box of treasures belonging to her apartment’s previous tenant and attempts to return it to the original owner. Glowing from her good deed of the day, she is inspired to carry out unselfish acts for family, friends and even strangers. These include the exploits of a garden gnome to awaken her father’s inner globetrotter, seeing for the blind, and an act of revenge towards the local fruit seller causing him to literally go bananas.
Isolated from a young age due to a wrongly diagnosed heart defect, Amelie feels comfortable within her sheltered life yet due to the superhuman responsibility undertaken, she begins to desire the love and friendship of another. However, unbeknownst to Amelie, as she watches the world from the outside looking in, a kindred spirit is observing her actions. Known as ‘the glass man’ due to his brittle bones, Amelie befriends the wise and short fused Mr Dufayel who has painted Renoir’s famous work ‘Le Déjeuner Des Canotiers’ on multiple occasions, yet is never satisfied with the end result. Through his dedication to painting the image perfectly and their own philosophical discussions about the lives of it’s inhabitants, Amelie begins to reassess her life, and gain the courage to speak to quirky photo booth rejects collector, Nino…
With his previous outings containing darker elements, Jeunet’s Amelie is a refreshing take on love, life and friendship, leaving the film to be difficult to label; an aspect that probably contributed to the reasons it wasn’t allowed to enter the Cannes Film Festival. However, this is exactly what makes the film charming and endearing without the sugar coating often added to plots containing elements of romance.
Whilst, to some, the lead character may seem perfect on paper, the combination of Jeunet’s direction and Tautou’s performance provides an honest portrayal of an introvert with the character’s subtle cracks visible to the audience. Audrey Tautou’s quietly moving performance transforms Amelie into someone who is relatable to audiences despite the great lengths she goes to commit acts of kindness for others.
Narrated by the haunting piano of Yann Tierson, the lead character’s loneliness is felt even when surrounded by large groups of people, whereas in contrast, the happier aspects of the soundtrack are what some may perceive as francophone music adhering almost to a stereotype.
Jeunet’s vision of Amelie’s world is dominated by the colours green and red that, although at first puzzling, creates a unique trademark aesthetic that has since been imitated, most famously by the TV series Pushing Daisies. Not that this is a negative aspect of the film - in fact, the effect is quite the opposite, and separates Amelie’s home from the trite tourist hubbub so often associated and portrayed in Parisian set films.
Whilst being quietly and at times daringly comic, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie is a film of poignancy, wit and intelligence, yet still keeps a certain amount of simplicity in tact without seeming too pretentious. A film that will have you re-evaluating your own life and relationships, Amelie will be with you long after the end credits have rolled. SR
Film: Amelie
Release date: 15th April 2002
Certificate: 15
Running time: 116 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Dominique Pinon,
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: France
After a so-so Hollywood detour with Alien: Resurrection, Jean-Pierre Jeunet regained the favour won with such visionary works as Delicatessen and The City Of Lost Children, with this worldwide smash hit.
Amelie Poulain lives a solitary and sheltered childhood with few friends for company. She is educated at home whilst her father works as a doctor, and has precious little time for his only child.
Her mother dies when she is very young and, as a result of her lonely surroundings, Amelie begins to retreat more and more into her own mind for solace, where she spends most of her time in a dream world instead of facing the reality around her.
Years later, in her early twenties, Amelie moves to Paris and starts working as a waitress at the Two Windmills Café. The adult Amelie is an imaginative but introverted young woman, who lives a quiet and isolated life.
After a string of coincidences lead her to find a box hidden in her apartment, she develops an insatiable desire to help others. Due to her introverted nature, she chooses not to help people openly; instead she sets up intricate plans and trails and watches from a distance as they are touched by her actions. But when Amelie finds she is falling in love, she realises that the hardest person to help is herself…
There is more than a touch of fairytale to this charming story, even down to Jeunet’s picturesque portrayal of the city of Paris. But the main credit has to go to Audrey Tautou, who makes the character of Amelie completely her own, depicting the contrastingly innocent and mischievous nature of Amelie perfectly. With this film, she shot to fame not just in France but worldwide, and deservedly so. Given her career and performances since, it seems this role was tailor made, with the depth of perception she brought.
Although the story itself is a fairly simple one, which anybody can relate to and understand, and it is told eloquently and imaginatively. The side storylines of the characters in Amelie’s life – her work colleagues, parents and neighbours – often add comic value without taking away from the focus of the tale. Instead, they provide us with a backdrop to Amelie’s ventures; first as she goes about trying to improve other people’s lives, and later as she turns to seducing one man in particular (Mathieu Kassovitz) in order to enhance her own.
The filmmakers encourage us to pay attention to detail, as it reveals people’s small quirks and habits, which generally go unnoticed by society. Amelie is a firm believer in life’s small pleasures, and she encourages the audience to consider those little things in our life that brighten up our day. As each of the main characters is introduced, the narrative voice-over provides us with titbits of information about the character’s personality, including their ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’, which help in turn to give us a sense of intimacy, as we begin to understand how these people work. It is that beauty in the small details, even though it may not always be visible to the naked eye that makes this film so precious.
A combination of comedy genius, witty one-liners (“She liked to spread her legs, but only on silk”), a hint of fantasy and a touching sentiment, make this a rare success in the blending of comedy and romance.
Whimsical and life affirming, Amelie is a unique experience which shouldn’t be missed. A rare movie gem. EW
Interview courtesy Market Me.
The visually stunning Micmacs, released on 21st June 2010, follows an unusual group of friends as they attempt to topple France’s two biggest arms dealers, with a series of entertaining, intelligent and bizarre escapades, is the latest offering from critically acclaimed director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessen)…
What exactly does MICMAC mean?
It’s slang or argot, and means a mixture, a mélange, but it’s always used in a humorous way.
It’s quite wacky story. A hero who has a bullet in his head and might die at any time who calls on a gang of misfits to take on the arms dealers he considers responsible for both his parents death and the slug in his brain. How did the story evolve?
I have always been interested in the story of Tom Thumb - the little orphan guy who takes on these monsters - and then I wanted to make a film that had this band of avengers made up of the characters like the crazy toys in Toy Story - I love Pixar - where each has a special talent, ability or eccentric little trait that is different from the rest. A bit like, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
And why arms dealers in particular?
I was editing The City Of The Lost Children, in Saint Cloud next to the Dassault arms manufacturing factories and used to eat in the same restaurant as their engineers. They seemed pretty strait laced but still normal friendly guys - but I couldn’t help looking at them and thinking that they have spent their day creating and manufacturing weapons to kill and destroy as many human beings as possible. So that stuck with me. But I wanted to make a comedy, not some serious intellectual piece, so I thought that pitting them against their opposites - a gang of scavenging second hand car dealer’s, people who recycle cars and abandoned objects - might be very nice.
You’ve referenced and paid tribute to a few other film and directors…
Of course, this is the fun! There’s Sergio Leone .You can’t do a revenge without referencing him. Another influence was Mission Impossible – the original TV series, which I love unreservedly. You can see that all the way through in the plot construction, the twists and of course the fake desert scene.
You and your co-writer Guillaume Laurant seem to work very well together...
Yes, so well that most of the time we do not know who suggests what. It is a true partnership - we bounce off each other. We had great fun with Micmacs, especially coming up with and forming the characters of the gang of second-hand car dealers, each with their angle and little, or big, eccentricities.
Like the Seven Dwarfs!
Yes, and that is why there are seven, and we gave them descriptive names just like the dwarves, like Calculator because she is always working things out, Elastic Girl because she bends like an elastic band and Remington because he is always on his typewriter. But once we had all these characters, we just joined the dots and used all of their unique characteristics to develop the story and help the plot along as it twists and turns.
Of course, the whole film hinges on Dany Boon’s amazing portrayal of Bazil that is so sensitive, yet so funny, and also strangely magnetic…
Dany is a big star in France - he was the highest paid European actor in 2008 - but started as a mime busking in the street, and also worked on cartoons. Now he is a comedian who writes shows, directs and acts. He has so much talent, it’s almost unbearable. He never did a bad take and was constantly looking for new ideas and ways to interpret the script. He was always joking with the crew and cast, and was never in a bad mood - I think that comes over in the part, as you can’t not like him! For me, it was like meeting a long lost friend. I felt comfortable with him right away.
But originally wasn’t the part written for Jamel Debbouze - the star of Indigenes?
Yes, I wrote the part for Jamel who lost his right hand in an accident in 1990, but he wanted time off from working. So I immediately called on Dany, who initially said no. So, I persuaded him to screen test, and we had a great time that he agreed. Of course, now if you watch the film, you cannot imagine anybody else on this planet playing the role. As soon as he put that big brown woollen jumper on, he was like a big teddy bear and I knew it would work. But the same happened with Audrey Tautou for Amelie. Originally we wanted Emily Watson but she declined and Audrey stepped in. Now who could imagine anyone else other than Audrey as Amelie?
Were you surprised with the success of Amelie and then dismayed after it was nominated for five Oscars but didn’t win any?
I never imagined how successful it would be. I remember sitting alone wondering who would pay to see it, and then suddenly Audrey’s face was everywhere. So I was happy with that. I am very fond of Amelie. I put my soul into that, my life and my story.
Micmacs is like Delicatessen meets Amelie…
Yes, that’s true. But I suppose because Guillaume and I approach each subject in the same way by filling up this box with our own experiences and locations and things we loved as kids and characters and notions, I suppose that’s why our projects might always overlap. They come from within. But the similarity is never intentional. In fact, very little I do is. MM
Film: Micmacs
Release date: 21st June 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie, Jean Pierre Marielle, Yolande Moreau
Genre: Comedy/Crime/Action/Romance
Studio: E1
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France
With Amelie and Delicatessen now widely regarded as classics in film comedy, and world cinema in general, the big question ahead of Micmacs’s much-hyped release was if it could possibly live up to now bloated expectations of the director.
The story starts with a roadside bomb fatality. The unfortunate’s son, Bazil (Dany Boon), grows up without his father, but he’s found some contentment working in a video shop. Now, over thirty years since his father’s demise, Bazil survives a random bullet to the head that is too risky for doctors to remove. After learning he must live with this precarious bullet, which may take away his life at any moment, his time in recovery causes him to lose his apartment and his job. A man now with nothing left to lose, he steals his hat back from a child and goes on his way, using his cunning and schemes to survive on the streets.
A chance meeting with Placard (Marielle) leads Bazil to a salvage yard and a group of misfits he comes to know as his ‘family’. The oddball group are experts in salvage and repair, all of them sharing some sort of bizarre physical intimacy with metalwork in their bodies. Seeing him as one of their own, they are ready to help Bazil exact playful but meticulous revenge on the two people who’ve wronged him in his life - the makers of his father’s fatal roadside bomb, and the makers of the bullet still lodged in his head…
This film, coming from the hands of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is, of course, a wonderfully theatrical piece of storytelling. An unconventional opening to a comedy with a roadside bomb fatality maybe, but it sets the tone, and leads the way for a whole plethora of characteristically quirky moments from Jeunet. These are woven together through the revenge narrative that highlights the contrastingly stern subject matter of the arms trade. Of course, it’s these quirks that scream of Jeunet’s style; Bazil sucking salad cream from the sachet, an amorous couple exploding on a land mine, and even the credit sequence seamlessly entwined with a film within the film.
The family are full of idiosyncrasies, mirroring their home of collected damaged household items, with their talent and teamwork bringing them back to life. Hilarious and subtle performances from many of the family, notably Dominique Pinon as Fracasse - a hot-headed human cannonball, always at home in a Jeunet film - and Marie-Julie Baup (the talents of Calculette being instant visual calculation of size, weight or distance – this will prove very useful as the revenge scheme is put into practice).
The relationship between Bazil and La Môme Caoutchouc, the contortionist of the group, brought some touches of sentiment to the story – but it wasn’t weighted or explored significantly enough to have the right balance. Bazil could have fallen with more gusto, and given him more to risk. The family were literally shooting themselves out of cannons for him, and if Bazil had become more emotionally involved, it would have upped the ante. Despite this, a bright spark leaps from the screen the moment Bazil bursts into song down the chimney to where the contortionist is putting her skills to use in the villain’s domain. It was a surprisingly sweet moment.
Fortunately, an underdeveloped romantic subplot doesn’t tarnish the experience. Each frame is measured and absolutely makes the most of the production design, from the sweeping shots of landmine-scattered landscapes to the intimate points of view moments. The salvage heap, home to the family of oddballs, lays host to some genius mechanics and design, and all married by perfect grading.
Perhaps this detail is overwhelming, and that Jeunet’s almost obsessive attention to detail is unnecessarily OTT, but this an intentionally theatrical experience.
Transporting you to a bizarre world, this funny and intricate story is what Jean-Pierre Jeunet does best – even if it doesn’t quite reach the dizzy hits of Delicatessen or Amelie. VB
