Micmacs (2009)

Really Surprised!

Excellent adaptation.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Micmacs (2009): Dir: Jean-Pierre Jeunet / Cast: Dany Boon, Jean- Pierre Marielle, Julie Ferrier, Andre Dussollier, Yolande Moreau: Colorful and creative comedy from Jean-Pierre Jeunet whose Amelie captivates our imagination and A Very Long Engagement compels us. Dany Boon plays Basil, orphaned after his father was killed at war. After being hit by a stray bullet and survives, he finds refuge with a group of misfits in a junk yard where he schemes to bring down the arms dealers responsible for the bullet embedded in his head, and the mine that killed his father. Jeunet brings great creative impulses to his story but it lacks the character emotion of Amelie. Here the special effects seem to overrule the plot whereas in Amelie they accompanied and even propelled the story. Boon brings a silent film like passion to the film as he accepts his replacement at work with a new quest to bring answers and justice. His junkyard friends are mainly characters identified through some visual trait. Jean- Pierre Marielle plays Slammer, a skilled thief. Julie Ferrier plays Elastic Girl whom can shift her body to any shape. They are amusing but never propel personality. Andre Dussollier plays the harassed villain who is brought to justice. Yolande Moreau plays Mama Chow whose name is more interesting than she is. Imaginative yet misguided impression of the rise of the forgotten soul. Score: 5 ½ / 10

This film succeeds on so many levels. Great cast, background, story, it doesn't blast you out with junk noise when they think you might not be following the story. And of course, excellent subtitles. The cast excel at a variety of faces and the editing and photography never fail. Would recommend this to anyone. Lots of little bits of business to giggle over and loads of snide comments about the armaments industry which should hit where it needs to. I'll be happy to add this to my titles on my DVD shelf. When I first caught this film it had already begun and I didn't know what I was getting into but it soon enabled me to catch on. Quite a bit of the action comes along without dialogue and there's no need for it. One to enjoy.

Jeunet is back with his magically enchanting trademark style. He's got the visuals down, with the help of cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata, who turns every yellow into a sunset gold. The film may have strong themes about weapons manufacture and the arms trade, but it's done in the style of a children's story. A children's story heist film. We can see Jeunet's silent movie influenced slapstick run riot, as Boon's toes steal his cardboard shelter away from him. It's a joyous film to experience, with cartoon like interludes of grin evoking madness. It might be too uneven for some, or too whimsical for others, but if you are looking for style AND substance, you can't go wrong.

The highly-acclaimed director of Amelie (2001) brings fans back to his whimsical world of comedy with Micmacs, a fun, entertaining, and cheeky outing that does not have a single dull moment. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the French director of some of European cinema's most stylishly creative films, takes rein over a film which has a story that goes like this: A guy named Bazil (Dany Boon) unluckily gets shot in the head but recovers to be adopted by an oddball family of "circus freaks". Together, they seek to help Bazil to find, capture, and embarrass the people who were responsible for manufacturing that bullet that is still stuck in his brain.Micmacs is a light-hearted take on crime – the crime of producing and selling weapons to maim or kill humans in wars. So with Bazil spearheading his team, they seek to destroy the egotistical heads of two companies that run such an evil, money-churning business. And they do so in the most bizarre fashion anyone could think of – by playing to the physical, intellectual, and courageous strengths of each person. There is a contortionist, a human cannonball, a human calculator, a black who speaks via the art of abstraction, an old man who improvises and creates things out of scrap metal, and a couple of others.Though the entire film could have been dreamt of by a director like Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 1985; The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 2009), Jeunet makes Micmacs his own with his incredible color schemes. His trademark use of soft orange and yellow give the film a sort of lively glow that makes it look eye-pleasing. Together with the fluidity of the camera-work, it is difficult not to become engrossed in the film's setting and characters. Apart from a couple of sex scenes integral to the plot, Micmacs could have been a children's movie, though that would be an insult to what Jeunet has accomplished here, despite how silly the film seems to be.Micmacs is playfully-directed, and the manner in which Jeunet tricks us with some oh-I-didn't-see-that-coming moments would most likely please us and tickle our funny bones. Most of the comedy come from physical situations that the characters find themselves in. Special credit should be given to Boon whose expressive bodily and facial movements channel the spirit of Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Micmacs is visually stunning, with Jeunet flexing his creative muscles by superimposing moving images of what Bazil is thinking about on his forehead as he copes with anxiety issues. There is no doubt that with this quirky effort, Jeunet has once again proved that he is one of the few masters of inventive cinema.GRADE: A- (8.5/10 or 4 stars)www.filmnomenon.blogspot.comAll rights reserved.