Micmacs

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is generally recognised as one of the great visionary directors currently working as his films always have a distinctive visual style and he seems to enjoy playing with the colour palette and, especially in his collaborations with Marc Caro, creating weird and wonderful environments for equally strange characters to do suitably strange, bizarre and twisted things. As such, his films don't tend to be popular with the mainstream and are not really multiplex material -- I had to wait until my local arthouse cinema was showing Micmacs before I could watch it.

The film follows an unfortunate man, Bazil, whose father is killed by a landmine when he was just a young boy and, 30 years later, as a clerk in a video store, is accidentally shot in the head when a pistol goes off after hitting the floor. In hospital, the surgeon has a choice of whether to take the bullet out and leave him a vegetable or leave it in and run the risk that it could move and kill him at any moment. After a coin toss in the operating theatre, they decide to leave it where it is but, when he is discharged, Bazil finds himself homeless and out of a job.

After trying various methods of earning money, he eventually hooks up with a motley crew of misfits from a human cannonball to a contortionist. They occasionally don't speak French (or any language, for that matter) in any traditional sense, but somehow manage to communicate and get along very well. When Bazil explains what has happened to him, they agree to help him bring down the two arms manufacturers who have done him and his family so much harm. It seems as if the world is dominated by two massive weapons companies which just so happen to have their headquarters in the same postcode facing each other; one was responsible for Bazil's father and the other one responsible for Bazil.

If you are at all familiar with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's work then you'll know that this will not be simple, straightforward or subject to rhyme or reason. Jeunet is a director who loves to put in tiny little details and little quirks that may only be there for a few seconds but make his films so rich and a joy to watch. Watching events unfold in Micmacs is a little like playing the board game Mouse Trap as, once everything is put into place, you need to hope that the diver goes where he is supposed to, that the ball falls in the right place and the boot moves with enough force to drop the cage onto the mouse.


Whilst all this is going on, there is a drama unfolding within the two companies that is being exploited by Bazil and his new friends who use all of the scrap they can get their hands on and don various different guises in order to ensure events unfold in the manner they want.

There is something wonderfully charming and childlike about most of Jeunet's work that makes it accessible to children of all ages and this is a fine example of that as you don't necessarily need to follow the intricacies of the plot to enjoy the lunacy that unfolds before your eyes. In Dany Boon, Jeunet has found a terrific leading man who has a great knack for physical comedy and a wonderfully expressive face that can be both extremely animated and capable of displaying several emotions at once or utterly deadpan in a way that would flatter Buster Keaton, the great 'Stoneface' himself.

I found Micmacs to be utterly enchanting at the cinema and it lost nothing on its second viewing, perhaps even becoming a slightly better watch as I was able to pick out small background details that I missed the first time around.

The Disc

Extra Features
Rather disappointingly, the disc only comes with a nine minute interview with Jean-Pierre Jeunet in which he talks about his influences, the ideas for the film and why nothing gets left on the cutting room floor.

The Picture
Typically for a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film, the palette is extremely warm and barely a pixel is wasted when it comes to packing the frame with information and little bits for your eyes to pick out here and there. He is a master of mise en scène and the level of detail that went into the costumes, set decoration and the overall design must have been extraordinary.

Such a visually complex film deserves a top notch transfer and that's exactly what you get with this. Presented in Full HD 1080p, the colours are terrifically presented and the overall look comes across extremely well. Flawless may be a superlative that is too often bandied about and I'm not going to use it to describe this picture, but it comes very close to being as good as you'll see.


The Sound
Given the choice of a LPCM 2.0 stereo track or a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, I went for the latter which does a terrific job with the dialogue, score and sound design which all go together to compliment the visuals and immerses you in 'Jeunet Land' for the duration. Raphael Beau does a tremendous job with the music that really helps to underscore emotion and add to the sense of quirkiness and fantastic.

The LPCM stereo track is extremely clear and is an extremely good option for those who don't have a full surround setup as the sound is crisp and, as the rear surrounds are only used fleetingly, is a worthy alternative.

The film is extremely well translated with subtitles that are easy to read and error free.


Final Thoughts
Micmacs is a delightful movie that, although it has a 12 certificate, should appeal to an extremely broad spectrum of ages, with the traditional 'suitable for those aged 8 to 80' a prescient phrase. I don't think it's the best film that Jean-Pierre Jeunet has ever made that he set the bar so high with Amelie that it will take quite some movie to best that. Micmacs is a film that will stand the test of time and holds up to repeated viewings but it's just a shame that there isn't more to the disc than a brief interview with the director.