The new comedy from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie, following the sad exploits of Bazil (Danny Boon).
Bazil, an orphan whose father was killed by a landmine, is shot in the head while working near a street shootout. He survives, but doctors decide to leave the bullet inside his head. Out of hospital, with his house and job gone, he wanders the streets until he meets Slammer (Jean-Pierre Marielle). Bazil is introduced to a bunch of misfits living in a salvage yard. Each one possesses a special talent: Mama Chow (Yolande Moreau) is the cook; Elastic Girl (Julie Ferrier) contorts herself into the tightest confines; Calculator (Marie-Julie Baup) measures anything by glancing at it, Remington (Omar Sy) is the typist, Buster (Dominique Pinon) is a record breaker, Tiny Pete (Michel Cremades) can make machines.
When Bazil identifies the manufacturers of the bullet inside his head and the landmine that killed his father, he recruits his new friends to carry out his revenge. Each's talent is utilised as they scheme and act out an ingenious campaign against the two heads of the companies.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s latest effort, dealing as it does with a war on arms manufacturers, could do with a little more of darkness à la Delicatessen than the whimsy of Amélie. Perhaps that is to be expected, with the light-heartedness and cute factor of the latter resonating so very strongly with audiences (if not this particular reviewer). It’s no major transgression on the part of Jeunet’s, however, that he takes Micmacs in this direction; his exuberant playfulness is well suited to slapstick, he is eager to embrace tangents and diversions, and content for the story to go wherever his imagination suggests.
But absent of any sense of danger for the film’s ragtag bunch of scavenging misfits and neither showing the impression of a threat nor displaying much cold-hearted villainy from the corporate warmongers they come up against, there’s never the feeling that anything is at stake in the film. Instead Micmacs consists of a tension-free series of Mission: Impossible-like set pieces by way of the circus or perhaps Stig Of The Dump, a relentlessly cheerful and wacky tone, and a surprising absence of diatribe against its bad guys. Even the film’s negligible romantic subplot comes off undercooked, as if light-heartedness and actual human emotion were mutually exclusive concepts.
In alternating between childishness and risqué elements, and embracing a convoluted storyline, Jeunet perhaps missed an opportunity to make Micmacs a film that children would find hilarious. Instead it doesn’t prove adult enough for grown-ups, and fails to fully satisfy.
By Steve Newall, Flicks.co.nz
This is a movie made by someone who obviously loves cinema and its history; it's full of references to silent movies, that I guess most audiences will not even notice. MICMACS is aimed at a wide audience, and with dialogue kept to a minimum even people who don't "do" subtitled movies might enjoy that one. As usual Jeunet's fantastic universe is kooky and filled with larger than life character ... some may say it's not believable ... to them I say : is Cinderella believable? is Little Red Riding Hood believable? Am sure you get my drift ... it's a modern fairytale! And a very pleasant one too. I guess you need to be up for escapism to fully enjoy that one.
This is a typical Jean-Pierre Jeunet flick, complete with kooky characters and an odd-ball story line. Although perhaps a little unlikely, the story was fun, it moved along quickly, and there were plenty of parts that made me laugh out loud.
I look at a film like this and must respect it for its ingenuity and love of detail. Then I remember “Amelie” and its heroine played by Audrey Tautou, and I understand what’s wrong: There’s nobody in the story who much makes us care.
Bazil (Dany Boon) has always been something of an outsider.
Jeunet himself describes the film best: Delicatessen meets Amélie. But we’d add that, while it’s certainly breezy fun, it’s not quite as good as either.
Another beguiling if draining fantasia from Jean-Pierre Jeuet that harkens back to silent movies.
Micmacs is ultimately shaped by Jeunet's unique creative vision -- a fun house of mirrors that is lovely to get lost in.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 10th Jun 2010.
Release date: June 10th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
