The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

One of the most unique visionaries to come out of France in the 1990s, Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a filmmaker who stood out from many of his French luminaries by bringing in his own quirky vision into the world of film. From his early collaboration with Marc Caro to his colorful presentation of modern life in France in the 2000s. Jeunet created a new language in film that wasn’t afraid to be offbeat and comical while also giving oddball characters a voice. Set to return with his seventh feature film in an adaptation of Reif Larsen’s novel The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet for The Young and Prodigious Spivet. Jeunet has already made films that can be called his own.

Born on September 3, 1959 at the Loire river port of Roanne in France, Jeunet was someone who had been fascinated by cinema in his teens where he bought his first camera around that time. While studying animation at the Cinemation Studios, Jeunet would meet another animator who shared Jeunet’s fascination with the world of the whimsy in Marc Caro. Caro was also someone who had a passion for set design and comic books as he would help Jeunet realize his vision. The two would work together on various projects as they would begin one of the most fruitful collaborations in film.

The Early Short Films

During the 1970s, Jeunet and Caro collaborated on two animated shorts in The Escape and The Merry-go-round that were presented in the form of stop-motion animation. With Jeunet focusing on framing and camera tricks while Caro did all the storyboarding and design work, the two would use the experience to create their first live-action short film called Le bunkerde la derniere rafale (The Bunker of the Last Gunshots) about military platoon hiding in a bunker waiting for the enemy. The project marked the first collaboration between several personnel who would be part of the Jeunet-Caro team that included co-writer Gilles Adrien and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. The short would display a sense of quirky visual style as it was shot in grainy 35mm with Jeunet, Caro, and Adrien each playing small roles in a 26-minute film that contained no dialogue.

The second short that Jeunet and Caro created is a much smaller short shot in color called Pas de repos pour Billy Brakko (No Rest for Billy Brakko) that ran for four-and-a-half minutes that revolved a man working endlessly. Their third short in 1989’s Foutaises (Things I Like, Things I Hate) is a simple story about a man describing the things in life he likes and dislikes. Shot in black-and-white, the short marked the first collaboration with actor Dominique Pinon who would become one of the many regulars in the company of actors Jeunet would work with throughout his career. The seven-minute short was a hit in film festivals as it brought the attention of studios in France who wanted to work with the duo of Jeunet and Caro.

Delicatessen

For their first feature-length film, Jeunet and Caro decided to create a film about a post-apocalyptic world where food is in short supply and the only currency available is grain. Entitled Delicatessen, it would revolve around a group of people living in an apartment above a deli where its butcher kills a new tenant to feed his other tenants as a new tenant arrives who would prove to be a big challenge to the butcher. The film would feature Dominique Pinon in the lead as the new tenant in former circus performer Louison as he would play a protagonist that would be common place with the films that Jeunet would do. Often as it revolves around an individual who is an outsider of sorts yet finds himself being connected to other oddballs and make way to standout against everyone else.

For the film’s production, Jeunet and Caro would utilize an ensemble that featured some of France’s finest actors as some of them would become part of the company of regular actors that Jeunet would work with in his career. Among them were Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Rufus, and Ticky Holgado as well as Marie-Laure Dougnac who has appeared in Foutaises as she played the butcher’s vegetarian daughter that Louison would fall for. Other people who would be part of the Jeunet-Caro team would include cinematographer Darius Khondji, editor Herve Schneid, sound editor Gerard Hardy, set decorator Aline Bonetto, and visual effects designer Pitof.

Collaborating with co-writer Gilles Adrien, Jeunet and Caro wanted to create a dystopian film that had a sense of humor as they cited the influence of filmmaker Terry Gilliam for his quirky sensibility dating back to his work as an animator for the British comedy troupe Monty Python. Notably in blending black comedy with something as serious as cannibalism as it would also feature a subplot involving an underground army of vegetarians. Plus, it would feature all sorts of quirky humor involving attempts to kill Louison who is oblivious to what is happening as he is also a vegetarian. What makes it more complicated is that Louison isn’t someone who can be easily rid off as he can fend for himself.

With Caro focusing on many of the set designs and visual motifs of the film that would include Khondji’s hypnotic color schemes in his photography. Jeunet would be the one who would help set up a frame and see what kind of camera shots would be used to create that scene. It would be something unique to the Jeunet-Caro collaboration as well as in the way they would reinvent the fantasy genre that was becoming more about big set pieces and extravagance rather than a compelling story. With only a small budget of 3.8 million euros, the duo were able to create something magical with the limitations they had.

The film premiered in France in April of 1991 where it was a major hit with critics and audiences where it won four Cesar Awards for its editing, production design, screenplay, and film work as well as a European film award for its set design. The film got lots of attention from the international film scene as well as a rave review from New York Times critic Janet Malin who saw the film at the 1991 New York Film Festival as it got a small U.S. release a year later. For the duo of Jeunet and Caro, the duo had finally arrived to the world of international cinema.

The City of Lost Children

The success of Delicatessen gave the duo of Jeunet and Caro the chance to make a follow-up that would exceed their vision yet it would take years before the project finally came into fruition. Entitled La Cite des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children), the film would be another dystopian-like feature set in the future where babies are being kidnapped so that a mad scientist can take their dreams in hopes to gain immortality and not age. With Gilles Adrien co-writing the screenplay, the film would be a much grander story than their predecessor in terms of set pieces and themes that explored the world of innocence and terror.

Retaining many of collaborators for the film as well as gaining the services of famed fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier for the costumes and renowned music composer Angelo Badalamenti to do the music. Jeunet and Caro also brought in several of their group of regular actors in Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Rufus, and Ticky Holgado to appear in supporting roles. With a cast that would include the famed Jean-Louis Trintignant in a voice role as a talking brain, the leads would be in the form of child actress Judith Vittet as young girl Miette, Chilean cult actor Daniel Emilfork as the antagonist Krank, and American actor Ron Perlman as the childlike strongman known as One.

Since the film is about a strongman and a young girl trying to retrieve the former’s baby brother that will lead them to a strange, remote island in the middle of the ocean. While Perlman didn’t speak much French and admitted that it was terrible, Jeunet and Caro chose to give him less lines in order to have him express his presence more as this heroic figure. Notably as Jeunet wanted to focus on directing the actors while Caro emphasized on the set designs as it would be just as elaborate as anything they had done previously. Particularly with the setting in the mysterious island as well as scenes shot underwater that would involve a mysterious character who had ties to this mysterious island.

The film would also utilize lots of strange visual quirks in order to present this world that is clearly unlike any form of reality. Notably through Pitof’s visual effects that involved fleas injecting poison into its enemies and other ideas through the very stylized photography of Darius Khondji. It would be the film that would express the highlight of the Jeuent-Caro collaboration as well as raise their profile as one of Europe’s rising talents.

The film made its premiere as the opening film at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it was well-received by critics and audiences. The film would prove to a major hit in Europe as well an art house hit in the U.S. The back-to-back success for Jeunet and Caro would get the attention of many in the international film scene as the duo were now hot among the world of film buffs and film critics.

Alien: Resurrection

The success of La Cite des enfants perdus gave the duo of Jeunet and Caro the attention of Hollywood as they wanted them to helm something for the studios. Though Jeunet was working on a script that would eventually become Amelie, he took the chance to work with a major film studio on something that would be big and raise his profile. It would be 20th Century Fox that finally approached him to helm the fourth film of the Alien franchise. Though it was offered previously to Danny Boyle and Bryan Singer, both declined the project as Jeunet was the next filmmaker offered as he decided to take part in the film despite speaking very little English and not having final cut privileges.

With a screenplay that was written by up-and-coming writer Joss Whedon who had been a TV writer for shows like Roseanne and an early version of Parenthood as well as being a script doctor for films like Speed, The Getaway, and Waterworld while co-writing Toy Story. The film would feature the franchise’s star Sigourney Weaver who was given a co-producer’s credit as she would reprise her role as Ellen Ripley. While Jeunet did have reservations about helming the fourth film of the franchise given the reception over its third film and its troubled production. It would be Weaver that would give Jeunet the chance to finally display some of his ideas into the project.

While Jeunet was able to get a few of his collaborators like cinematographer Darius Khondji, editor Herve Schneid, and visual effects supervisor Pitof as well as Marc Caro providing some sketches of the costumes the characters would wear. Jeunet was also able to get Dominique Pinon in a small role as the paraplegic mechanic Vreiss and Ron Perlman as the wise-cracking mercenary Johner. With a cast that would include Winona Ryder, Raymond Cruz, Michael Wincott, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, and Brad Dourif. Jeunet finally got a chance to helm his first solo feature in the form of a big-budget sci-fi adventure film with a $75 million budget.

Not surprisingly, the production was troubled as Jeunet had a hard time finding a studio space to helm the film as many other big-budgeted productions were taking place at the time. Notably as it would require a scene where characters had to swim underwater to escape one of the aliens as it was shot first though it was difficult due to a drowning experience Winona Ryder had at age 12. Though it was one hurdle that Jeunet was able to get through, he also wanted to take a chance to really flesh out the Ripley character more as she had been revived with alien blood as he gave Weaver to do things that she hadn’t done in the previous films. While changes were made to Whedon’s script much to his dismay, Jeunet was able to get the film finished on time and on budget.

The film premiered in late November of 1997 where it did well in the box office though reception from critics and fans of the franchise were mixed. Still, it did help Jeunet with his profile as it also helped him financially despite some of the hurdles he went through into making the film. The film would also mark the end of Jeunet’s collaboration with Marc Caro as the two went their separate ways as the latter would forge his own career into filmmaking that finally saw him helm his first solo feature in 2008’s Dante 01 that would co-star Dominique Pinon.

Amelie

After the release of Alien: Resurrection, Jeunet took a break from filmmaking as he devoted some of his time to work on the script for what would become his greatest triumph. Entitled Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain), the film would be a completely different project from everything else that Jeunet had done in his career. Straying away from some of the dystopian elements of his earlier feature films as well as its dark humor. Jeunet decided to go into full-on quirkiness for this project about a shy, young waitress who secretly decides to change the lives of the people around her for the better while trying to find love.

Co-writing the screenplay with Guillaume Laurant, Jeunet wanted to create something that had the quirky elements of a love story but also make it a love letter to the city of Paris itself. While it would be set during the late 1990s in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It would be a story that revolved around this young woman’s desire to make the lives of people better including her father who still grieved over his wife who had died when Amelie was a child. Jeunet was influenced by Wong Kar-Wai’s 1994 film Chungking Express where its second half featured a quirky love story involving a cop and a woman who worked at a eatery he always went to. What intrigued Jeunet was the eccentricities in the Faye character that had been played by Chinese singer Faye Wong as she was someone who didn’t fit in the mold of most female protagonists in romantic films.

While Jeunet wanted British actress Emily Watson to play the lead while he had written the role for her in mind. Watson was unable to do the film due to commitments to be in Robert Altman’s 2001 film Gosford Park as well as the fact that her French wasn’t very good either. Jeunet would eventually do a re-write with Laurant where he would finally find the person to play Amelie in a up-and-coming French actress Audrey Tautou. Tautou was a TV actress who had just made her film breakthrough in 1999’s Venus Beauty Institute where she won a Cesar award for Most Promising Actress. After meeting Tautou, Jeunet found the person he was looking for as production was underway.

While retaining most of his company of actors in Dominique Pinon, Rufus, and Ticky Holgado that would be expanded to include Urbain Cancelier, Yolande Moreau, and famed character actor Andre Dussollier as the film’s narrator. Jeunet also made a few changes in his collaborators due to the departures of Marc Caro, Pitof, and Darius Khondji. While regaining Bruno Delbonnel as his cinematographer as well as getting set decorator Aline Bonetto to the production designer. Jeunet was ready to helm what would a film that would be like no other. With Delbonnel creating a vibrant colored scheme that deviated from other photography styles that been known to give Paris a postcard look. The look gave Jeunet something that would stand out as it emphasized largely on whimsy with Delbonnel providing something that was drenched in sepia-colors to flesh out the film’s quirky look.

It wasn’t just the chance to shoot on location in various places in Paris where Jeunet had this sense of freedom without having to build lots of extravagant set pieces for the film. Notably as it would play to the many adventures that Amelie would take as she is this café with a strange sense of humor but also someone who longs to connect. Even as Amelie would be intrigued by someone who is just as quirky and complicated as she is where it would add to her sense of longing. While Jeunet knew that he had to play to certain schematics for Amelie to be with this person, he also knew what not to do in order to make Amelie’s desire to connect be more surprising.

One aspect of the film that would Jeunet would be Yann Tiersen’s music. Wanting to convey the world that is Paris, Tiersen would create a score that emphasized on the accordion that is typical of Parisian life. Yet, Tiersen created score pieces that played to the many emotions that Amelie goes through whether it’s upbeat or down tempo as he would also add little instrumental touches in the background. It would be a key element that would ensure not just the success of the film but also an ingredient that Jeunet needed to make the film standout from his other features and everything else that was happening in cinema.

Though the film was slated to premiere at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, the festival’s organizer Gilles Jacob decided not to have the film played though it was presented in an unfinished form. Yet, Jeunet was able to get the film to come out a few weeks before the festival where it was a major hit in France. The film would make an appearance at the Toronto Film Festival in September of that year where it won the People’s Choice Award as it led to a limited release in the U.S. later in the year where it was a big art house hit. The film would be a favorite among critics and received five Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film as well as nominations for its art direction, music, sound, and screenplay. For Jeunet, it would a highlight of his career as well as elevating him to one of the great filmmakers working at the time.

A Very Long Engagement

With the new clout that he received for Amelie, there was an added sense of pressure into what Jeunet should do next. Notably as it would be a major challenge to top something as revered as Amelie. Yet, Jeunet eventually found his next project in the form of an adaptation of Sebastien Japrisot’s 1991 novel Un long dimanche de fiancailles (A Very Long Engagement). The story is a romantic epic about a young woman who is desperate to find out what happened to her lover who had been killed or missing in action during the Battle of the Somme in World War I as she goes on a quest to find out what happened. The story was a much more multi-layered film as it revolved around government corruption and what happened to those men lost in that battle.

While the story would be a major departure of sorts for Jeunet, its love story between the character of Mathilde Donnay and Manech Langonnet still appealed to the director as it would provide motivation for Mathilde’s journey. Notably as it would allow Mathilde to discover what Manech was going through in war as well as the horrors that he was facing that led to the death of some men in his platoon who were accused of cowardice. Writing the script with Guillaume Laurant, the story would be something that would take Jeunet to areas that he hadn’t explored while wanting to retain some of his themes into this story.

With Audrey Tautou reuniting with Jeunet to play the lead role of Mathilde Donnay. The cast would be filled with many of Jeunet’s regulars like Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Rufus, Urbain Cancelier, Andre Dussollier, and Ticky Holgado in one of his final film roles as well as a very diverse group of actors. Notably as it would feature up-and-comers such as Gaspard Ulliel as Manech, Julie Depardieu as a girlfriend of one of the deceased soldiers, and Marion Cotillard as a serial killer seeking vengeance over the death of those who were responsible for her lover’s death. Also cast for the film were a group of veterans like Tcheky Kayro, Denis Lavant, Chantal Neuwirth, Albert Dupontel, and American actress Jodie Foster as the widow of a soldier who died in the war.

With many of Jeunet’s collaborators taking part of the project while Jeunet also regained the services of music composer Angelo Badalamenti. Jeunet and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel wanted to go for something that had many elements of the romantic epics but didn’t want to rely too much on long, sweeping visions. Notably as they maintained an air of intimacy into the film’s look while playing to some of the grittiness that occurred in the battle scenes with the help of visual effects supervisor Alain Carsoux. Jeunet also wanted the film to have an air of intrigue as it revolved in the third act that relates to the mystery of what happened to Manech where it included a key meeting between Mathilde and the character of Tina that Cotillard played that would revel in a new maturity into what Jeunet would do as a filmmaker.

With an 18-month production schedule that had a $57 million budget that was co-produced by French and American studios. The project was a mass undertaking though a bit small in comparison to Jeunet’s experience with Alien: Resurrection. While there had been some legal issues over what studio would get a bigger share of the profits. The film was finally released in November of 2004 worldwide where it was well-received critically while doing very well in the box office despite its limited run in the U.S. Not surprisingly, the film didn’t do well as Amelie yet still managed to maintain Jeunet’s reputation as a filmmaker while upping Audrey Tautou’s status as a major film star. The film received two Oscar nominations for its cinematography and art direction while gaining several Cesar award nominations winning five including a Best Supporting Actress prize to Marion Cotillard.

Micmacs

With several successful films under his belt and the adulation of critics and film buffs, Jeunet was given offers to helm several high-profile projects. Among them was helming the fifth Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix yet Jeunet chose not to do it. Another project that Jeunet was approached to do and seriously considered was in an adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. With Guillaume Laurant helping him to write the screenplay, the project was supposed to start shooting in mid-2006. Yet, problems emerged over the budget forcing Jeunet to drop out of the project as it would be eventually helmed by Ang Lee who finally unveiled the film in 2012. Jeunet would spend the next few years working with Laurant on a very different project that would return Jeunet back to the world of comedy.

Entitled MicMacs a tire-larigot (Micmacs Non-stop shenanigans), the film would be a mixture of genres that explored the world of arms trading and the effects it would have on individuals whose lives had been destroyed by the sales of arms. While it mostly a comedy, Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant decided that the film would be a satire of sorts on the world of arms trading as it would be led by a man who had lost everything because of arms dealing. In turn, he teams up with an eccentric group of oddballs in a revenge scheme to take down two of France’s top arms dealers by pitting them against each other.

While Jeunet was able to get a few of his regular group of actors in Dominique Pinon, Urbain Cancelier, Yolande Moreau, and Andre Dussollier to appear in the film. Jeunet originally wanted Jamel Debbouze for the lead role of Bazil but various issues prevented Debbouze to appear in the film as famed comedy actor Dany Boon eventually got the lead role. Changes were also made for Jeunet’s group of collaborators as Bruno Delbonnel was unable to take part as he was already in demand as a cinematographer. Jeunet was able to get Japanese cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata to fill in while it would become the first film in which Jeunet decided not to use any type of visual effects for the film.

While Nagata’s photography style definitely differed from everything else Jeunet had worked with. He did maintain something similar to some of the scenes shot inside and at night while Aline Bonetto’s set design of the secret base that Bazil and his friends lived in added that same kind of quirky sensibility that Jeunet was looking for. The film also Jeunet going into some very dark territory as it did dwell into the world of arms dealing as its two antagonists in these arm dealers are competing to sell arms to an African dictator. Yet, they’re unaware of the damage they had done to Bazil who lost his father from a landmine made by one arms dealer and the stray bullet in his head made by the other that had him lose everything he once had. It would become a key motivation to take vengeance in not just for himself but also for the human race.

While Jeunet was taking on something that was very heavy, he and co-writer Laurant decided to use humor as a way to fight off against these two arm dealers by having Bazil and his gang of oddballs do things that proved to be silly yet effective. The film would also show Jeunet expanding his influence by referencing Howard Hawks’ film The Big Sleep while also acknowledging himself as he would have Pinon replay his Louison character from Delicatessen who makes a cameo appearance though the film also was supposed to have a cameo from Audrey Tautou as Amelie though Tautou was unable to take part in the film due to scheduling issues. The result would show not just a newfound maturity in Jeunet’s work but also a film that would also reveal that he is unafraid to take on some major themes.

The film made its premiere at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival where it got a wonderful reception as it was later released in France a month later and got a U.S. release in the next year. While it only did modestly well in the box office, the film still did well with critics who were amazed over Jeunet’s vision as well as tackling some heavy themes in a humorous way. For Jeunet, the film was able to prove that he is still one of cinema’s great filmmakers.

The Young and Prodigious Spivet

Jeunet’s next film will be in an adaptation of Reif Larsen’s The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet about a 12-year old mapmaking enthusiast who goes on an adventure by traveling cross-country all over the U.S. to accept the Baird Award in Washington D.C. The film is set to be Jeunet’s second English-language feature as it will include a very diverse cast of actors including Helena Bohnam Carter, Callum Keith Rennie, Judy Davis, Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon, and newcomer Kyle Catlett in the role of T.S. Spivet. While the film would be another departure of sorts for Jeunet, it is slated for a November 2013 release as it might be a more accessible feature. Whatever the outcome it will be, it certainly will be something that his fans and maybe audiences who aren’t familiar with his work might enjoy.

Additional Works

Throughout Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s career, the director also took the time to direct commercials and music videos during the 1980s. Some of which with Marc Caro as it included videos for French-based artists like Julien Clerc, Claudia Phillips, Jean-Michel Jarre, Lio, and Etienne Daho. The videos for Julien Clerc reveal many of Jeunet and Caro’s unique visual style in these two videos for the songs La Fille aux Bas Nylons and Helene that reveal a playfulness in those songs.





For Etienne Daho’s Tombe pour la France, Jeunet and Caro go for the same approach in the video for that song as well as some inspired animated sequences.



Jean-Michel Jarre’s Zoolook is easily the highlight of Jeunet’s work as a music video director with its mix of stop-motion animation, live-action, and all sorts of strange images as the video itself is really a delight to watch.



Lio’s L’autre joue show a very different side to Jeunet’s directing style as he goes for simplicity though it’s shot largely on a crane shot looking down through some gorgeous black-and-white images since the song is a wonderful ballad.



Finally, there’s the two videos for Claudia Phillips in Souvenez-vous de Nous and Cache ta Joie. Both of which reveal the pop singer’s humorous ideas towards her song as the former shows Phillips wearing various costumes while being on top of other people in a very whimsical video. The latter is very creative video with dancing dogs, various forms of animation, elastic models, and all sorts of strange backgrounds while Phillips sings.





In 2009, Jeunet was asked to film a commercial for Chanel No. 5 as it featured Audrey Tautou in the commercial. Filled with Jeunet’s unique visual style, it is truly a gorgeous commercial about a woman traveling on a train from Paris to Istanbul as she meets a man entranced by her beauty.



With six feature films and one more set to come out, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has already amassed a great collection of films as he is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. He is a filmmaker who puts a lot of heart into the characters and visual ideas that he creates that allow the audiences to fall in love with them. He’s also someone not afraid to take on heavy material but also find something in it for the audience to be enthralled by whether it’s through humor or romance. After all, if there’s a filmmaker who will find a way to put a smile into someone’s face through his films. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the man to do that and more.

© thevoid99 2013

The City of Lost Children

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro and written by Jeunet,Caro, and Gilles Adrien, La Cite des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children) is a fantasy-drama film set in a dystopian world where a carnival strongman and a streetwise orphan going to an island to save children from a mad scientist. Featuring Jeunet’s whimsical yet colorful direction along with Caro’s broad visual ideas, it is considered the duo’s finest collaboration of their career. Starring Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Rufus, Ticky Holgado, Mathieu Kassovitz, and the voice of Jean-Louis Trintignant. La Cite des enfants perdus is a remarkable yet stunning film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro.

Somewhere on a mysterious island in the middle of the sea, a mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) is kidnapping children so he can steal their dreams. Krank, unable to dream, is getting nightmares from the children he kidnaps with the help of his midget-wife Martha (Mirielle Mosse) and a group of cloned men (Dominique Pinon). Yet, all the children are scared of Krank as he hopes to reverse the aging process while is being annoyed by a brain named Irvin (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who the clones admire. Krank continues to look for a child that would give him good dreams so he can stop himself from aging. Meanwhile at a nearby dystopian world, a simple-minded strongman named One (Ron Perlman) is taking care of a young infant child named Denree (Joseph Lucien) who is later kidnapped by a group of men known as Cyclops.

During his search for Denree, One meets a young girl named Miette who helps him as she’s part of a group of orphan thieves who steal for Siamese-twin women known as Octopus (Genevieve Brunet and Odile Mallet) who are connected by one foot. After encountering their guard Peeler (Rufus), One and Miette go on a journey to find Cyclops and its leader Gabriel Marie (Serge Merlin). There, they see a ceremony where Martha and one of the clones get the kidnapped children including Denree where One and Miette are caught. Octopus sends a former circus performer named Marcell (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) to retrieve One for their own reasons where Marcello uses a flea to attack one of the Cyclops to save One while Miette nearly drowns only to be saved by a man in a diving bell suit revealed to be Krank’s former scientist (Dominique Pinon).

When a fuse full of nightmares comes across the ex-scientist, he realizes what is going on while Miette finds One as she also sees one of the nightmares. Realizing where Denree is, they encounter some trouble while finding a man (Ham-Chau Luong) with a tattoo on his head leading to the island. It’s up to a strongman, a young girl, and an ex-scientist to save the kids before its too late.

The film is a fantasy story about a simple-minded yet loving strongman and a young girl try to save a young infant boy from an evil scientist who is trying to steal dreams from children in hopes to reverse the aging process for himself. Yet, it is set in a world where things are hopeless as young infant children are often kidnapped while orphans had to fend for themselves. For this young girl where she meets this childlike strongman, she finds someone who can protect her while this strongman finds someone who can help him. Yet, they face a mad scientist who has become obsessed with becoming young only to lose sight of reality as he becomes dependent on finding infants who aren’t scared of him so he can live in their dreams.

The screenplay that Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, and Gilles Adrien create explores a world that is definitely lost where there are even more crazier things in this mysterious island that is protected by mines and such. Notably as the mainland features an underground army of blind men who can only see through an electronic eye as they’re working for this scientist to kidnap children. When they encounter this strong man and a very determined young girl, all things become troubling for the scientist. Yet, One and Miette also have to deal with the Siamese-twin ladies known as Octopus who are upset over the fact that Miette has become trouble and is turning over a new leaf away from stealing.

While the story is a dystopian-fantasy film, it’s also got a lot of humor as there’s a small subplot about a group of clones trying to figure out who is the original clone. Even in some scenes where there’s a lot of strange scenarios into how One and Miette try to get out of a bad situation that does involve a lot of comedy. Even the character of Krank is comical since he is so delusional about what he wants as he is also annoyed by this talking brain named Irvin who is the film’s conscience.

The direction of Caro and Jeunet is definitely big in terms of its presentation where it is set in a world that is off-kilter and full of things where not everything works. Notably as the mainland is cramped and there’s children running around while there’s a lot of strange things happening where young children have to hide from the Cyclops. The direction is filled with stylish shots from these wide crane shots, dizzying fish-eye lenses, close-ups, and all sorts of things to maintain that sense of whimsy that Caro and Jeunet wants. Even in the way they present funny moments as well as surreal moments where reality and fiction collide such as the climatic scene at the island when One and Miette finally face Krank.

The direction also contains element of darkness in the way dystopia is presented though it’s not overtly bleak. Notably as it features some spectacular action sequences that involves not just some quirky visual effects but also suspense such as face-off between Octopus against Miette and One. There’s also some very strange scenes such as the way an accident is presented where it is this strange mix of humor and action that plays to that world of the whimsical. It’s all part of a world that is very weird that has some element of reality but it is mostly a fantasy. Overall, Jeunet and Caro create a fantastic and adventurous film that plays well to the fantasy genre.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylish photography with its sepia-drenched lighting schemes for many of the film‘s interior and exterior settings in the mainland as well as scenes underwater and some more low-key colors in the island scenes. Editor Herve Schneid does amazing work with the editing by utilizing lots of stylish cuts for some of the film‘s action scenes along with dazzling cuts for some of the dream montages. Production designers Marc Caro and Jean Rabasse do spectacular work with the set pieces created from the look of the mainland with its buildings to the more quirky video cameras at Krank’s island.

Costume designer Jean-Paul Gaultier does excellent work with the costumes as they‘re quite over-the-top in the look of the Cyclops as well as the more colorful clothes most of the characters wear. The visual effects by Pitof and Pierre Buffin are terrific for the way some of the backdrops look as well as the close-ups of Marcello‘s flea that would fly to inject something into a person. Sound designer Jean-Pierre Halbwachs does superb work with the sound to create some unique sound effects in the scenes set in the island as well as other layers of mixing to play up the sense of whimsy that occurs in the film. The film’s music by Angelo Badalamenti is wonderful for its sense of orchestral bombast as well as playfulness in some of the comical moments as it’s one of Badalamenti’s best scores.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou is incredible for the ensemble that features some notable appearances from Mathieu Kassovitz as a man in the streets, Ticky Holgado as One’s master, Rufus as Octopus’ henchman, Marc Caro as a man becoming a Cyclops, Serge Merlin as the Cyclops leader, and Joseph Lucien as One’s baby brother Denree who is always eating something. Genevieve Brunet and Odile Mallet are great as the conniving Siamese-twin sisters Octopus who are determined to get rid of Miette for rebelling against them. Jean-Louis Trintignant is very funny as the voice of the brain Irvin whom the clones adore and Krank is annoyed by while Jean-Claude Dreyfus is excellent as the former circus performer Marcello who finds himself sympathizing with One and Miette over their situation.

Mirelle Mosse is wonderful as Krank’s diminutive wife Martha who helps Krank out while dealing all of the chaos in the island while Dominique Pinon is amazing as the clones and the mysterious man in the diving bell suit where he brings a lot of humor as the clones while being more quirky as the diver. Daniel Emilfork is terrific as the villainous Krank as he’s a man full of delusions and anger as he is unsure if his experiments will work. Judith Vittet is brilliant as Miette as she’s a determined child who knows how to do things while aiding One in his mission as she realized how important it is. Finally, there’s Ron Perlman in a remarkable performance as the simple-minded strongman One where Perlman gets to show restraint in his role as a man trying to find his baby brother while Perlman doesn’t get to have a lot of dialogue though he does speak French quite adequately. Notably as he makes up for it with his physical presence and ability to be funny and sensitive in his role.

La Cite des enfants perdus is a marvelous film from the duo of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. The film is definitely among one of Jeunet’s great films as it features amazing performances from Ron Perlman, Judith Vittet, Daniel Emilfork, and Dominique Pinon. It’s a film that is among one of the most imaginative and entertaining fantasy films that plays to the world of reality and fiction that is expected in the genre. In the end, La Cite des enfants perdus is a spectacular film from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: Delicatessen - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - A Very Long Engagment - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

© thevoid99 2013

Delicatessen

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro and written by Jeunet, Caro, and Gilles Adrien, Delicatessen is the story set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with famine where a butcher kills people to feed his tenants in the apartment above his deli. The film is a black comedy that explores a world where people are hungry as they turn to a butcher for help as he does whatever it takes to feed his friends. Starring Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, and Karin Viard. Delicatessen is a visually-stylish yet zany film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.

In a post-apocalyptic world covered in a dust storm where there’s a horrible famine and the only currency in the world is grain, a butcher named Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) runs a delicatessen as he feeds the tenants above him as he’s also their landlord. After killing a worker, Clapet sends an ad to get a new whom he plans to kill later as an unemployed circus clown named Louiston (Dominique Pinon) arrives to answer the ad as Clapet lets him in. While Louiston does a lot of the work, he befriends Clapet’s daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) as many of the tenants realize how resourceful Louiston is as Clapet is reluctant to kill as he waits for Clapet to do screw up.

When Julie learns what her father is planning to do, she reads the newspaper about an underground of vegetarians known as the Troglodistes as she goes underground where she meets them and tells them about the large vault of grain her father has. The Trogolodistes secretly try to go into the building to find where the vault of grain is where an attempted murder on Louiston went wrong since Louiston was nowhere near the incident. On the night when Louiston’s old clown performance is to be on TV, the Trogolodistes make an attempt to get all of the grain while Clapet decides to make one final attempt to kill Louiston as all hell breaks loose.

The film is essentially the story about a former circus clown who answers an ad to be a repairman at an apartment where the main floor is a deli as he is unaware that the people in the building are cannibals desperate to eat meet as their landlord/butcher does all of the killing. Set in this post-apocalyptic world during a famine, it’s a film that is a part-dystopian film but also bends all sorts of genres from slasher films, romance, and black comedy. A lot of which features all sorts of eccentricities such as many subplots such as Clapet’s affair with a seductive woman (Karin Viard), a family with an old lady (Edith Ker), two men trying to recreate old sounds, and a woman trying to kill herself in elaborate presentations.

The screenplay does lay to a traditional structure yet it does enough to establish what is happening in the world with the first ten minutes where a man tries to hide and he eventually gets killed by this butcher and then feed it to his tenants. When the character of Louiston appears, he has no idea what he’s in store yet he is oblivious to what really goes on as he focus his attention towards fixing up the building and falling for the butcher’s daughter who is a vegetarian. Meanwhile, there’s an underground group of vegetarians that are trying to survive in the underground as Caplet’s daughter eventually tells them about the large vault of grain that he has. The second half of the story is about not just the heist but also Caplet trying to kill Louiston in every way he can as things do go out of control yet Louiston is someone who is more than capable of taking care of things.

The direction of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet is definitely stylized in terms of the presentation they create. Largely as it’s set mostly in a building and some of it underground where it’s a world that is on to its own. Notably as Caro and Jeunet maintain an intimacy in this dystopian world where it’s very off as there’s not many people who lurk around outside except for those unfortunate victims that Caplet would kill to feed his tenants. Through some very stylized camera angles as well as quirky montages such as scene where lots of sound is made that almost becomes a musical number. It’s part of the strange world that the film wants to present as it’s definitely not reality but rather a reality that is truly off.

The film also features lots of unique set pieces to establish the different worlds where the apartment building is nearly in ruins as it’s surrounded by buildings that are practically destroyed. There’s lot of spaces where each tenant lives in their own world as the camera is always interested in that environment that includes a basement lived by a man (Howard Vernon) who surrounds himself with frogs and snails where he eats the latter. Eventually, there comes this climax between Louiston and Caplet where there’s so much that happens where it revolves into a lot of stylized scenery and action that would play into the fates of what would happen. Overall, Caro and Jeunet create a dazzling and very entertaining film that does a lot more to keep the audience excited.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylized cinematography that is awash with lots of sepia-drenched colors for most of the film including the exteriors and underground as well as some of the interiors. Editor Herve Schneid does excellent work with the editing from the playful montages that is created to more stylish approaches to cutting to play up the humor and suspenseful moments of the film. Production designer Marc Caro, along with set decorator Aline Bonetto and art director Miljen Kreka Kljakovic, does spectacular work with the set pieces for the film such as the deli, the apartments, and the underground sewers that the Trogolodistes live in.

Costume designer Valerie Pozzo di Borgo does wonderful work with the costumes from the seductive red dresses that Mademoiselle Plusse wears to the more eccentric clothes of Louiston. The visual effects work of Pitof is a delight for the whimsy that it creates from some of the transitions that are created in the pipes to a few smaller things like bubbles that Louiston does to entertain a couple of kids. Sound editor Gerard Hardy does fantastic work with the sound to create an atmosphere as well as to play up the eccentricity of the apartment with its collage of sounds to create a musical number of sorts. The film’s music by Carlos D’Alessio is incredible for its orchestral pieces to play up the suspense as well as some light-hearted moments including the musical duet between Julie and Louiston where they respectively played cello and musical saw.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Pascal Benezech as the unfortunate victim in the film’s beginning, Boban Janevski and Mikael Todde as the two kids in the apartment, Marc Caro as a Trogolodistes, Edith Ker as the grandmother, Chick Ortega as the postman, Jean-Francois Perrier as the husband of the suicidal woman, and Silvie Laguna as the suicidal woman who tries to kill herself in strange yet elaborate presentations. Other memorable small roles include Anne-Marie Pisani as Madame Tapioca, Jacques Mathou as the craftsman Roger, and Howard Vernon as the man who lives with the frogs.

Future Jeunet regulars in Ticky Holgado and Rufus are excellent in their respective roles as the tenants in the pushover Marcel Tapioca and the sound re-creator Robert Kube. Karin Viard is wonderful as the seductive tenant Mademoiselle Plusse who befriends Louiston only to get herself into trouble with the Trogolodistes. Jean-Claude Dreyfus is great as the villainous Clapet who desires to try and kill for his tenants as he meets his greatest challenge in Louiston. Marie-Laure Dougnac is superb as Clapet’s vegetarian daughter Julie who falls for Louiston as she shares her eccentricities with him while doing whatever she cans to defy her father. Finally, there’s Dominique Pinon in a marvelous performance as Louiston where he displays a quirky sense of humor and charm as well as create a character who lives in a world of his own and finds his way to deal with whatever situation he’s going through.

Delicatessen is a spectacular yet whimsical film from the duo of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Featuring some outstanding performances from Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, and Jean-Claude Dreyfus. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be a dystopian comedy with a mix of slasher and romance as it is also not afraid to not take itself so seriously. In the end, Delicatessen is a phenomenal film from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: The City of Lost Children - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - A Very Long Engagement - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

© thevoid99 2012

Alien: Resurrection

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and screenplay by Joss Whedon, Alien: Resurrection is the fourth and final film of the original Alien franchise in which a newly-cloned Ellen Ripley returns to fight a new species of aliens with a group of mercenaries after an experiment had gone wrong. With Sigourney Weaver playing the role of Ripley once again. The film also stars Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Brad Dourif, Michael Wincott, Dan Hedaya, Gary Dourdan, and Leland Orser. Alien: Resurrection is a stylish yet engaging thriller from Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

200 years after the events that led to the death of Ellen Ripley, a military experiment that featured remnants of her DNA sample has finally succeed in cloning Ripley where her body contained a baby queen alien. With the newly-cloned Ripley still in containment as she contains alien blood in her body, the experiment led by General Perez (Dan Hedaya), his subordinate Dr. Wren (J.E. Freeman) and Dr. Gediman study the aliens as they wait for a ship to arrive. The ship features a team of mercenaries who had captured a group of people unaware of the motives the military has for them. While the band of mercenaries that includes Call (Winona Ryder) who recognizes Ripley as she secretly enters her cell in an attempt to kill her where Call reveals why she and the mercenaries are really here.

Instead, things go wrong when the alien experiment have the aliens break out of their containment area and kill most of the crew leaving Ripley, Call, the rest of the mercenaries, Dr. Wren, and a marine in DiStefano (Raymond Cruz) to deal with the aliens. Realizing that the only option is to destroy the ship and board on the mercenaries ship to escape, Ripley and the gang try to deal with the aliens as they kill a few while Ripley makes a discovery about the experiment that was done to her. While trying to escape the aliens, the group finds a man named Purvis (Leland Orser) who had survived the experiment as he learns he has an alien inside him that’s going to burst soon. Things become more complicated where another discovery is made where Ripley and Call realize what the queen alien is doing as Ripley realizes that new breed of alien is being made and it has to be stopped.

Throughout the entirety of the series, there is always a subplot that relates to a corporation wanting to take the sample of an alien in order to use it for bio-weapons. In this film, the military finally gets a hold of an alien for their experiment and everything goes wrong. Once again, Ellen Ripley and everything she had faced in the past reveal that everything she didn‘t want to happen has finally come true. Resurrected from the dead in order to fight the aliens one more time, she goes all out while having a new advantage that would help her fight off the aliens as she also has alien blood in her.

Joss Whedon creates a script that does reveal a lot into how Ripley was finally able to be successfully cloned yet also shows a woman who is trying to get in touch with her humanity while becoming aware of what she’s facing. There is a new conflict that she’s facing as she is a bit of an alien where she is quite reluctant to kill them since they’re really her children. It’s one of the interesting aspects of the screenplay as well as the mercenaries themselves who definitely have a motive to board the U.S. science ship as one of them in Call knows a lot about Ripley and her history with the aliens. While the script does play to formula a bit and carries lots of exposition that does go a bit overboard, Whedon is able to create a script that is very faithful to its predecessors.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s direction is definitely stylish in the way he presents the film in a visual scale as well as the fact that he was able to keep things more simple. With some unique framing from camera shots shown from above and under to create an air of suspense while emphasizing that it’s more than just a film as it’s often led by an ensemble. While Jeunet is aware that there’s a formula that’s to be played where characters do get killed off and such. Jeunet does manage to give some characters moments where they can stand out and actually give the audience something to care about. Jeunet also keeps the action exciting without delving too much into fast-paced action or shaky camera work. While the film definitely has flaws in some parts of the script as well as moments where some of the action and visual effects don’t mesh up. Jeunet does create a solid and thrilling film that lives up to some of the brilliance of the franchise.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does excellent work with the film‘s lush yet evocative photography to play up the mood of the film with its emphasis for a bit of grain in the look as well as low-lights for many of the scenes to play up the sense of style. Editor Herve Schneid does nice work with the editing in the way the action is given a rhythm that isn‘t too fast while slowing things down for the suspense and low-key moments. Production designer Nigel Phelps, along with set decorator John W. Dwyer and art director Steve Cooper, does terrific work with the sets from the look of the labs and hallways in the spaceship to the designs of the nests where the alien eggs are to be hatched.

Costume designer Bob Ringwood does some good work with the costumes to create some nice mercenary suits for the mercenaries as well as the clothes that Ripley wears when she fights off the aliens. Visual effects supervisors Erik Henry and Pitof do wonderful work with the visual effects such as the way the aliens move and how some of the exteriors are made though there‘s some bits that doesn‘t entirely work. Sound designer Leslie Shatz and sound editor John A. Larsen do superb work with the sound to create an atmosphere that occurs as well as setting a mood for some of the film‘s suspenseful moments. The film’s music by John Frizzell is quite good for its orchestral bombast to play out the drama and action that occurs in the film.

The casting by Richard Pagano is brilliant for the ensemble that is created for the film as it includes some notable small roles from Carolyn Campbell and David St. James as a couple of scientists doing research on the aliens, Dan Hedaya as the big ship’s head General Perez, Leland Orser as a lab rat who has to deal with an alien inside of him, J.E. Freeman as the distrustful Dr. Wren, Raymond Cruz as the marine DiStephano, and Brad Dourif as the main scientist Dr. Gediman who is fascinated by the aliens. For the roles of the mercenaries, there’s Kim Flowers as the pilot Hillard, Gary Dourdan as the skilled shooter Christie, and Michael Wincott as the mercenaries leader Frank Elgyn. Jeunet regulars Ron Perlman and Dominique Pinon are great in their respective roles as the humorous shooter Johner and the paraplegic yet resourceful mechanic Vriess.

Winona Ryder is excellent as the mercenary Call who knows a lot more than her other mercenaries seem to know about the situation as she also carries a secret that would help everyone. Finally, there’s Sigourney Weaver in her fourth outing as Ellen Ripley. Weaver brings a new dark element to the character as a woman who is really a shell of what she used to be as she deals with her new alien blood as well as the fact that she’s the aliens’ mother where Weaver brings another fantastic performance as the famed character.

Alien: Resurrection is a stellar though flawed film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet that features a superb performance from Sigourney Weaver. Along with amazing visuals and top-notch supporting work from Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, and Dominique Pinon. While it may not love to the brilliance of the first two films, it does manage to be entertaining enough for fans of the franchise. In the end, Alien: Resurrection is a superb film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: Delicatessen - The City of Lost Children - Amelie - A Very Long Engagement - Micmacs - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Alien Films: Alien - Aliens - Alien 3

© thevoid99 2012

Micmacs

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and co-written with Guillaume Laurent, Micmacs is the story of a man who conspire with his friends to try and destroy two weapons manufacturers as an act of revenge. The film is a return to Jeunet’s more comedic style of filmmaking following the more dramatic epic of 2004‘s A Very Long Engagement. The film also serves as Jeunet’s response to the world of arms trades as he chooses to satirize the people who sells arms. Starring Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Omar Sy, Dominique Pinon, Julie Ferrier, Jean-Pierre Marielle, and Yolande Moreau. Micmacs is a witty yet whimsical film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

After being hit by a stray bullet, the life of Bazil (Dany Boon) goes into shambles with a bullet stuck on his head as he loses his home and his job as a video clerk. Unable to find work or a place to live, he meets an elderly man named Slammer (Jean-Pierre Marielle) who lives in a dump with other people. Among them is a contortionist named Elastic Girl (Julie Ferrier), a maternal cook named Mama Chow (Yolande Moreau), an ethnographer named Remington (Omar Sy), a young mathematical woman named Calculator (Marie-Julie Baup), a human cannonball named Buster (Dominique Pinon), and an inventor named Tiny Pete (Michele Cremades) who invent things from scraps from the dump.

When Bazil decides to pick up scraps for the people he’s living with, he stops to pick up a few things where he finds himself in the street where the buildings of two weapons manufacturers are. Realizing that one of them in Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet (Andre Dussollier) is the man who built the landmine that killed Bazil’s father 30 years ago while the other manufacturer across the street in Francois Marconi (Nicolas Marie), who created the stray bullet in his head. Bazil decides to create a plan to get back at both of them as he seeks out the help of everyone to create his plan. Staking out at their respective buildings, Bazil and the gang decide to create a scheme for the two manufacturers to fight each other by destroying whatever deals they have with an African dictator seeking arms.

With the plans becoming more elaborate and comical as de Fenouillet and Marconi starting to fight each other. Bazil starts to fall for Elastic Girl as they work out another plan where something goes wrong as men working for the African dictator break into Marconi’s apartment. With de Fenouillet and Marconi realizes what’s going on, it’s up to Bazil and the team to finally create another plan to nab both of them for their actions.

Throughout the world of arms trading, for the people who create the weapons. It’s all about the money but the real price is in the people who suffer in the hands of it. In this film, it’s about a man who is a victim in the hands of weapons who lost his father when he was just a boy and 30 years later, gets hit by a stray bullet that would affect his entire life. In his approach to revenge, killing these men wouldn’t solve anything so what he and a group of misfits do is essentially create a scheme where these two weapons manufacturers would fight each other and would pay dearly for the crimes they’ve committed against the human race.

What Jean-Pierre Jeunet and co-writer Guillaume Laurent is create a film that is more about giving these two weapons manufacturers their comeuppance through a series of hilarious schemes concocted by the film’s protagonist and his band of hooligans. Yet, the characters that help the protagonists are all outcasts who have suffered some form of loss or alienation as they all band together to fight against two men who have it all. The villains however, are just as interesting for the way they present themselves as well as the quirks they have. Marconi is a guy who has a young son, likes to compare himself to Arthur Rimbaud, and loves to collect vintage cars. In de Fenouillet is a guy who likes to collect body parts of famous people that include Winston Churchill’s fingernails, the heart of Louis XIV, and Marilyn Monroe’s tooth.

The script works because of the way the revenge scheme is planned as well as the motivations for the characters. The reason the people join Bazil is because it gives them a chance for them to do something with their skills in hopes to create a better world. Jeunet and Laurent also allow the film to be very funny for the way things are handled in the planning of these schemes while allow the time for a bit of romantic tension between Bazil and Elastic Girl. The overall script is definitely engaging for the way the revenge story is told through humor and bits of political satire.

Jeunet’s direction is marvelous for the way he creates the world that the characters live in as it’s all heightened and presented in a comical fashion. The cave-dump Bazil and his friends live in is a world unto its own where even though there’s not much. What they can use gives them enough reasons to live while using these pieces of scraps and decayed objects to help them fight against the weapons manufacturers. The objects that are created along with the presentations of the schemes gives Jeunet a lot to do with the compositions and camera movements to see how are things done. Particularly as he goes for some wide shots, close-ups, and lots of shots in the air to give it a worldly feel.

Since it’s shot partially in places in Paris and out of Paris, Jeunet creates dazzling compositions of the locations while avoiding landmarks that has been seen in previous films. He also goes for something that’s a bit more intimate and simple in the use of the locations while keeping the events in the film lively. The film also plays as a homage to other films such as the silent films of Charlie Chaplin, westerns, thrillers, and its opening credits is presented in an old-school style where the film starts off with a scene of Bazil as a kid and his old life as a video clerk as he watches Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep. It’s all told in a light-hearted approach without being too funny while the commentary on arms trades is presented in a lighter context though the message is out there but not in an overbearing manner. Overall, Jeunet creates a truly sensational yet entertaining film that is really a joy to watch.

Cinematographer Testuo Nagata does a great job with the film‘s colorful yet lush cinematography to exemplify the use of yellow, green, and orange for the scenes in sunny day Paris as well as some of the exteriors in the caves. Nagata also employs a more straightforward yet colorful look to other scenes to set a mood for the scene or to heighten it for humor or suspenseful moments. Editor Herve Schneid does an excellent job with the editing as it’s presented in a straight yet playful presentation with some jump-cuts and other rhythmic cutting style to play up the film’s suspense and humor.

Production designer Aline Bonetto does a fantastic job with the art direction including the creation of the cave, the buildings the manufacturers work at as well as their posh homes, and the objects that is created. Particularly the little robots and inventions that the Tiny Pete character creates that was built by sculptor Gilbert Pyre. Costume designer Madeline Fontaine does a wonderful job with the costumes by playing to the film‘s look including the clothes that Elastic Girl wear to more straightforward clothes that other characters wear. Sound editor Gerard Hardy does a superb job with the sound work to capture the intimate yet crazy world of the dump-cave and the city locations including the sounds of explosions in some of the action scenes of the film.

The film’s score by Raphael Beau is very good as it features some comical, light-hearted orchestral pieces as well as a few, suspenseful pieces that play throughout the film. Yet, the rest of the soundtrack comes from the music of Max Steiner which plays to some of the dramatic and romantic elements of the film in reference to The Big Sleep as the music is a highlight of the film’s technical work.

The casting by Pierre-Jacques Benichou, with additional work by Valerie Espagne, is brilliant as it features some notable appearances from Noe Boon as the young Bazil, Manon Le Moal as Bazil‘s video clerk replacement, and Lara Guirao as Bazil‘s mother that appears early in the film. Other notable performances in the roles of Bazil’s gang includes Michele Cremades as the quiet yet inventive Tiny Pete, Marie-Julie Baup as the statistics-talking yet charming Calculator, Omar Sy as the cliché-spouting yet kindly Remington, and Dominique Pinon as the brash human cannonball Buster as he also briefly plays the Louison character from Delicatessen in a small scene.

In the roles of the two antagonists, Andre Dussollier and Nicolas Marie are great in their respective roles as de Fenouillet and Marconi as they each bring a big yet funny approach to their characters as two men who become pawns of a scheme to destroy each other. Jean-Pierre Marielle and Yolande Moreau are excellent as the older members of the gang in their respective roles as the encouraging Slammer and the tough yet maternal Mama Chow. Julie Ferrier is wonderful as Elastic Girl, a contortionist whose talents helps Bazil in his plans while dealing with her own feelings towards him as Ferrier displays some great work in her physical flexibility. Finally, there’s Dany Boon in a fantastic performance as Bazil by showing being a calm yet comical guy who can do a bit of mime and be tough as he really brings a lot of charm and wit to his role.

Micmacs is a delightful and exhilarating film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet that features an outstanding phenomenal cast and Jeunet’s approach to bending genres. It is a film that has Jeunet taking on political themes with his own brand of humor as well as providing something that is entertaining without being too whimsical. It’s a film that fans of his work will definitely enjoy while showcasing that there’s more to him than being quirky or romantic. In the end, Micmacs is an amazing yet exciting film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and company.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Films: Delicatessen - The City of Lost Children - Alien: Resurrection - Amelie - A Very Long Engagement - (The Young and Prodigious Spivet) - The Auteurs #20: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

© thevoid99 2011