Thursday 17 September 2009

Micmacs



From the opening frames of their delicious debut, Delicatessen, I was a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. The City Of Lost Children affirmed that, and as Jeunet went solo with Alien: Resurrection, Amelie and A Very Long Engagement, his work continued to dazzle and delight and amaze. (I've yet to see Caro's solo effort Dante 01.) And so I've been eagerly awaiting Jeunet's latest, Micmacs, which screened at the TIFF recently, and which will be at the LFF next month.

Variety was impressed:

Turning the volume of his slapstick surreality down from 11 to 10, Gallic auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet hits the sweet spot with Micmacs. The wacky tale of a brain-injured videostore clerk who brings down a pair of Parisian arms dealers with the help of some highly creative collectors of second-hand goods, "Micmacs" welds Jeunet's hyperactive imagination to the simpler structures of silent comedy and '40s-era studio capers, resulting in the director's most accessible work yet.

As was The Hollywood Reporter:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the last silent movie director. Of course, there is sound galore in such films as Delicatessen, the huge international hit Amelie, A Very Long Engagement and his latest film, Micmacs. But his comic instincts really do relate to the visual storytelling of Buster Keaton: Wry slapstick gags and chains of fateful events lead a feckless protagonist through the bewildering mysteries of life. With ingenious French comedian Dany Boon as his star, Jeunet should enjoy another worldwide success.

No comments: