#frence cinema

[mariwatchesmovies]

Naissance des pieuvres (2007) | Water Lillies (2007) dir. Céline Sciamma cine. Crystel Fournier

[mariwatchesmovies]

India Song (1975) dir. Marguerite Duras cine. Bruno Nuytten

[lovetolovefilms]

Delicatessen () (France) (Drama/Comedy) (15)

In a post apocalyptic world in which food is scarce, some survivors turn to cannibalism – while others (a band of vegetarian freedom fighters) live underground. In a house inhabited by various eccentric tenants, a murderous butcher keeps his customers supplied with food by killing people. One day another potential victim, an ex circus performer arrives, to takes up the job as handyman, but soon the butcher’s daughter falls in love with him. Can she save him from her father’s meat cleaver?

 Right from the start where we see a tenant trying to escape from the house by hiding in a dustbin, we know we are in for something very different and are not disappointed.  This is the wonderful and wacky futuristic fantasy comedy by Jeunet and Caro - responsible for other offbeat movies such as ‘City of lost Children’, ‘Micmacs’ and the phenomenally successful ‘Amelie’. The film has all their very personal ingredients - a bizarre story, eccentric characters and oddball humour and more. The film also has the unique visual look, with its stylish art design and cinematography, which we have, come to expect from their films. As with so many of their movies, ‘Delicatessen’ is a rich and very visual feast, full of fascinating oddball incident and detail. There’s an originality and inventiveness here which is quite unique and delicious. To spend time in the weird and wonderful world of Jeunet & Caro is a delight.

Dominique Pinon, Marie – Laura Dougnac, Jean Claude Dreyfuss head a talented ensemble cast. Pinon and Dougnac in particular are enchanting as the shy unlikely lovers. To choose highlights in a film like this, which is brimming with memorable characters, incidents and detail, is impossible – but among it’s delights are the oddball tenants, such as the manic depressive lady upstairs determined to commit suicide, who constructs elaborate devices to carry it out, or the man in the basement, who sits in a room surrounded by seemingly thousands of snails – or how about the delightful scene where the unlikely lovers perform a duet on a violin and wood saw. Viewers will also savour the imaginative scenes which use the sound of a creaky bed as a starting point. Magical, funny, enchanting, exciting and much more, this is a wonderful. Not to be missed