Title: Micmacs
Director: Jean-Pierre JeunetReleased: 2009
Staring: Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Omar Sy, Dominique Pinon, Julie Ferrier, Nicolas Marié, Marie-Julie Baup, Michel Crémadès, Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Marielle
Plot: Bazil (Boon) a movie obsessed video store clerk has had
nearly everything he hold dear to him taken away by weapons of war, his father
having been killed by a landmine in Morocco when he was a boy and now as an adult
he now finds himself with a stray bullet lodged in his skull and on the verge
of instantaneous death. Things only get worse when he finds himself suddenly
replaced at his job aswell as made homeless forcing him to walk the streets of Paris,
where he is taken in by scavenger Slammer (Marielle) and his bands of fellow
scavengers / misfits. Happy with his new life as a scavenger Bazil soon
stumbles across a chance for revenge on the arms companies which not only made
the mine which killed his father but also who made the bullet lodged in his
skull and soon forms his plan for revenge with the help of his new friends.
Review: For some reason
it has taken me until now to watch this film which is something of a conundrum
for myself considering how much of a fan of director Jeunet’s previous films, which
like this film play out like surreal fairy tales with an adult twist, a style he has continued to establish
with each film he has made, only twice breaking away from this style of
direction for “Alien Resurrection” and “A Very Long Engagement” which didn’t
exactly resonate for myself and was essentially key in my cautiousness in
approaching this film, cautiousness which I can now say was unneeded as Jeunet
here returns with a vengeance to his more recognised film making style. Perhaps
because of his break from his more associated style, it might explain the
frenzied energy of this film as he comes out swinging here, throwing all manner
of strange characters and hijinks onto the screen, making the original French
title “MicMacs à tire-larigot” which translates to “Non-stop
shenanigans” only all the more fitting.
Essentially a revenge movie via the way of “Mission
Impossible”, somthing which in the hands of Jeunet takes on a very different style than
what most directors would produce given this same brief, as the traditional
gruff badass unleashing vengeance those who wronged him is nowhere in sight,
which is almost a shame considering that Jamel Debbouze has originally been
considered for the role of Bazil, only to leave after three week due to
artistic and financial disagreements with Junet. Like Ethen Hunt in “Mission
Impossible” Bazil has his own team whose members all process a special skill,
it would be hard to say that any of his groups skills are anything you would
expect from this kind of team, as Bazil is joined in his quest for revenge by
contortionist Elastic Girl (Ferrier), human cannonball Buster (Pinon), Sculptor
Tiny Pete (Crémadès), Calculator
(Baup) who can measure and calculate things with a glance and former convict
and guillotine survivor Slammer, while the group are generally kept together by
former ethnographer and cook Mama Chow (Moreau). Reading through this skill
list they might not seem like the most qualified group for taking down a couple
of arms dealers, but that only adds to the fun and beauty of this film as
Jeunet’s seemingly unlimited creativity is unleashed as he continually manages
to find new and more inventive ways to utilize these skills and often with
chaotic results.
Shot in Jeunet’s
usual distorted reality, he has once again created a world which while
seemingly set in reality, still allows for random daydream sequences as shown
by an orchestra randomly appearing behind Bazil, only to suddenly disappear as he
snaps himself back to reality, while this setting enables Jeunet to use an
incredible pallet of colors while ensuring that every scene is crammed with as
much detail as possible which will no doubt have some of you reaching for pause
button just to take in some of the smaller details, including the bizarre
appearances of posters from the film appearing throughout. Still even this
supposed version of reality is none the less strange with Bazil and the misfits
who make up his team, making a home for themselves in a cave carved into a
trash heap, living a life none to dissimilar to that of “The Wombles” as they
make use of scrap that other folks leave behind with Tiny Pete especially
making use of this scrap in his inventive sculptures which range from humanoid
figurines such as his weight lifter to the more simple yet none the less
visually arresting dancing dress.
Once more the
humor here is decidedly reminisant of the comedies of the silent era, with the
majority coming from gleefully over exaggerated performances, especially on the
part of Boon who makes the most of his clownish physique and even more so with
the continually inventive ways the group complete their goals, while there is
something surprisingly satisfying about seeing the underdogs pulling the carpet
from underneath the feet of the all-powerful big dogs. Meanwhile subject of the
arms race and the devastation it causes is certainly a hot topic and once
certainly broached in more serious films, the tone is kept light aswell as
broad enough that you no doubt keep any serious contemplation of the larger
issues till after the film.
For the
established fans of Jeunet’s films they will no doubt appreciate this return to
more familiar territory, while newcommers will find it more of a gentle
introduction to his surreal worlds than the darker “Delicatessen” or “The City
of Lost Children”, with it’s memorable characters and warm humor, it is hard
not to be charmed once more his work
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