Delicatessen DVD with Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Marc Amyot (R) +Movie Reviews

Delightfully indelicate

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You probably know him best for "Amelie" and "A Very Long Engagement," but Jean-Pierre Jeunet did an entirely different kind of comedy in "Delicatessen," a wicked black comedy that deals with... um, cannibalism. It's a twisted, dark story populated by the oddest characters that the writer could possibly have imagined -- and man, is it funny.

It's the postapocalyptic future, where food is so scarce that grain is used as money, and meat is completely gone. The setting is an apartment building run by a local butcher (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), who feeds his tenants in an unusual way: he hires assistants, then turns them into tomorrow's din-din. His newest assistant is the gentle vegetarian ex-clown Louison (Dominic Pinon).

But the butcher's plans get thrown for a loop when his cello-playing daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) falls for Stanley and (unsurprisingly) wants to save her love from a fate worse than entrees. So she contacts the vegetarian resistance, the Troglodytes, and tricks them into invading her father's house, on the night when he plans to slaughter Louison.

Okay, let's get this straight: cannibalism is not funny. But comedies about cannibalism CAN be very funny, if done well. And "Delicatessen" manages to be a funny comedy in the tradition of Terry Gilliam, with the warped direction, surreal direction and strange settings. What was later precious in "Amelie" is weirdly ominous here... not that that's a bad thing.

It's also a challenge to create such a dark, bleak setting and somehow inject offbeat comedy into it. For example, one sex scene is juxtaposed against various activities (carpet beating, cello playing) -- all in the same rhythm. It's a moment of pure comic skill. But at the same time, Jeunet slips a bittersweet love story into the middle of the strangeness, relying on Pinon and Dougnac's strong chemistry.

The oddities of the characters are what take this dark comedy to the next level: a tough postman; a pair of brothers who make "moo" boxes, and an aristocratic old lady who goes to great -- and unsuccessful -- lengths to kill herself, Rube Goldberg-style. Julie and the innocent Louison are a bright spot, but the Troglodytes are a bit over-the-top. Really, must they be THAT dumb?

"Delicatessen" is an acquired taste. Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, here's the real end of the review: Jean-Pierre Jeunet's dark comedy is a bit hard to swallow at first, but the wickedly funny characters and offbeat script will win you over."

Fun!! Where's the DVD?

P. Evans | Louisville, KY United States | 01/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A bizarre and wonderful film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie) and Marc Caro. I don't like to give too much away, but, suffice to say, it's set in a future world where there's not much meat around. So, the local butcher turns to the only supply left. Then, a circus-performer turned handyman appears and that's when the mayhem starts.The acting is superb, the cinematography and direction is brilliant and the story is a loopy wonder. Now, all we need is a deluxe DVD edition.Yes, the film is in French (with subtitles). You'll truly be missing out if you let that keep you from this wonderful film."

The fantastic debut film on Region 1 DVD!

Cubist | United States | 05/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Delicatessen marked the impressive feature film debut of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, two mad geniuses from France who would sadly make only one other film together (the Terry Gilliam-esque City of Lost Children) before going their separate ways. Delicatessen displayed an inventiveness in their sometimes surreal imagery but also with quirky, endearing characters they so expertly crafted. Jeunet and Caro presented a rich, atmospheric world that was the stuff of dreams... or nightmares depending on who you talk to.

Director of photography Darius Khondji shoots the entire film through a sepia tone filter, enshrouding the outside world in a thick fog that creates an ominous mood and gives Delicatessen the look of an old photograph (a look that Jeunet would adopt again with A Very Long Engagement). This is in turn enhanced by the industrial soundscape as if we've wandered into the desolate neighbourhood in Eraserhead. Jeunet's film has some of the most exquisite production design this side of a Gilliam film. The attention to detail is incredible and certainly invites repeated screenings in order to catch all of little things buried in the background of scenes.

Fans of Jeunet's films have had to wait for what seems like forever for Delicatessen to be released on Region 1 DVD and finally the wait is over. For people who only know his work through Amelie, this is a chance to see where that movie came from. Delicatessen was the blueprint for all other Jeunet films to follow, featuring an irrepressible protagonist who injects a sense of engaging child-like wonderment into an otherwise cynical world.

There is an audio commentary by Jean-Pierre Jeunet who tells all kinds of anecdotes and explains what inspired certain shots or where certain props came from. This is a very engaging and informative track that is definitely worth a listen.

"Fine Cooked Meats: A Nod to Delicatessen" features a lot of on the set footage of scenes from the film being shot. It shows how much work went into the film but doesn't provide any insight or context, which, I suppose, is the purpose of the commentary.

"The Archives of Jean-Pierre Jeunet" features a collection of behind-the-scenes footage, including Pinon auditioning, rehearsal footage of scenes not in the movie, and Jeunet scouting locations for certain scenes that are juxtaposed with what they look like in the finished film.

Finally, there is the theatrical and teaser trailers for the film."

Finally on DVD for your enjoyment, the first and possibly be

William R. Halliar II | Valparaiso, IN | 01/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is it! As delirious as Amelie made me, as visually stunning as City of Lost Children was, this was the first Jean-Pierre Jeunet (and Marc Caro!) movie I ever saw and it's still my favorite. Darker in tone than any of his other films it's still packed with hilarious moments and every scene is impeccably and sumptuously shot with colors so luminous you're TV will thank you personally for buying this movie.

The central joke in the film, that others seem to miss, is that the characters aren't driven by hunger. Yes, it's set in some undisclosed time of bleak social collapse where meat is very, very scarce. Yes, an enterprising butcher uses certain tenants to do little jobs around the apartment building he owns before chopping them up and selling them to his other tenants (who are all in on it by the way). But the tenants buy the meat with dried grain and corn and beans. Not just a handful of grain, but quite a bit. More grain than meat. Think about that for a second. They're not starving. They could easily use that grain to make a myriad of meals, but instead they use it to buy meat. Not because they need it, but because they want it. Then, out of the swirling ever present fog, stumbles an unassuming, down on his luck ex-clown looking for work and everything goes to hell. Well, mostly everything.

I can't recommend this movie enough. If you're tired of the bland Hollywood fare at your local Cineplex and want something with a little more... flavor... check this out. You won't be disappointed. And don't worry, it may seem like I've given away quite a bit of the movie in this review, but I haven't. You learn everything I've mentioned in the first five minutes or so of the film. The rest of the movie just sort of careens wildly out of control from there.

Oh, this is just a review of the film by the way; I haven't seen the region 1 DVD of the film yet (because it wont be out until May) so I don't know what it's like, but if it's as good as the region 2 DVD, it'll be well worth the cash.

"

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