Micmacs

Introduction

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a critically acclaimed French director with popular films like Amelie, A Very Long Engagement and The City of Lost Children to his credit as well as the fourth instalment in the Alien series.

MicMacs is his latest film and centres on the story of the unfortunate Bazil (Dany Boon), orphaned as a young child when his Legionaire father was killed by a mine made by a French arms manufacturer. Now grown up with a job in a video rental shop, a bizarre shooting incident finds Bazil in hospital with a bullet lodged in his brain. Despite the non-removal of said bullet, Bazil survives this incident only to emerge from hospital to find himself both homeless and jobless.

By chance, Bazil hooks up with Slammer (Jean Pierre Mareille) who takes him in and introduces him to his oddball family of friends who live within a hideaway in a Parisian scrap yard and make a living by rescuing junk and fixing it up or making new items from it. Amongst these friends are contortionist and love interest La Mome (Julie Ferrier), a mad inventor, a young girl with an eye for distance and the world's fastest human cannonball with an entry in the 1979 Guiness Book of Records. They are looked after by mother-figure Tambouille (Yolande Moreau).

Bazil is set to work in order to earn his keep by collecting junk from around Paris, but one day finds himself on a street where the two largest arms manufacturers in France are situated opposite one another. Bazil recognises these companies as both the one who killed his father many years ago and the one who manufactured the bullet lodged in his brain. He unsuccessfully attempts to gain entry to talk to the CEO's of both companies and ejected on his arse, decides he will try to bring them down.


Initially he works on his own but doesn't really get anywhere. His newfound friends have noticed his preoccupation, however, and once he reveals what he's trying to do, they all agree to help him.

And so the fun begins…

Visual

Incredible use of warm colours with a number of stunning visual comedic moments, this film is breath-taking on blu-ray.

Extras

Interview - with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet who feels the need to defend his work and use of colour, which seems to be criticised in his homeland for some reason.


Overall

Although I can't count myself as a huge fan of Jeunet due to non-exposure to most of his films, I am a big fan of A Very Long Engagement and wanted to see this film as soon as I saw the trailer for it. MicMacs is a different proposition from the quite serious love story of the former film, this is very much a comedy with some stunning visual jokes that just get better on repeated viewings.

Dany Boon is exceptional as the rather dim Bazil but this is very much an ensemble piece with the rather disparate group of oddball friends, all with their own very quirky abilities. I can't forget either Andre Dussollier or Nicolas Marie as the two opposing arms dealers as well as they very much add to the charm and comedy of the whole thing. It is a rather odd thing to think of a film about arms manufacturing as a comedy, particularly as there is some violence and plenty of explosions in it but the whole thing has a cartoon-like feel to it, almost reminiscent of the Wil.E Coyote/Roadrunner confrontations but reversed.

A very rewarding film and definitely recommended…