lundi 17 mai 2010

Micmacs à tire-larigot - Jean-Pierre Jeunet - film review



I wrote about Micmacs à tire-larigot briefly here when I was talking about the AF French Film Festival but unfortunately I never got around to watching it during the festival. However, several films were made for public release after the festival ended in March so I did end up getting to see this film afterall!

The title translates roughly as "shenanigans" but I'm more inclined to call it "dodgy dealings" (which is a phrase I use often, I am not sure if it's just Australian slang). I'm not good at plot explanations (especially when I can't remember the characters' names!), so here is what it says on the YouTube video (attached below) courtesy of Sony:

Opens May 28 in New York and Los Angeles! 

First it was a mine that exploded in the middle of the Moroccan desert. Years later, it was a stray bullet that lodged in his brain... Bazil doesn't have much luck with weapons. The first made him an orphan, the second holds him on the brink of sudden, instant death.

Released from the hospital after his accident, Bazil is homeless. Luckily, our inspired and gentle-natured dreamer is quickly taken in by a motley crew of junkyard dealers living in a veritable Ali Baba's cave. The groups talents and aspirations are as surprising as they are diverse: Remington, Calculator, Buster, Slammer, Elastic Girl, Tiny Pete and Mama Chow.

Then one day, walking by two huge buildings, Bazil recognizes the logos of the weapons manufacturers that caused all of his misfortune. He sets out to take revenge, with the help of his faithful gang of wacky friends. Underdogs battling heartless industrial giants, our gang relive the battle of David and Goliath, with all the imagination and fantasy of Buster Keaton...
Like everyone else, I loved Jean-Pierre Jeunet's previous work Amélie. I have also seen one of his first films Délicatessen when it first came out and loved it. This film does have an Amélie-like quality to it, especially the yellow-green colouring of all the scenes, which also gives it a dream-like feel. Jeunet's writing is endlessly inventive and imaginative and I was in awe of his talent.

The film stars the wonderfully-talented Dany Boon who is probably most well-known for his role in Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis. He does a fantastic job as the main character, Bazil, and is joined by Dominque Pinon and Yolande Moreau who were both in Amélie as well.

The underground world in which they live reminded me a lot of Flushed away (a wonderful animated film brought to us by Aardman, the makers of Wallace & Gromit). The people that live there are ingenious because of the way they use "rubbish" to make a home.

What I found interesting was that such an unlikely group of people came together to become friends and as always, I love Jeunet's take on people in society. This is a classic movie about "goodies" vs "baddies" but there are also a lot of little things I noticed like the CEO (or the PDG) of the weapons company not knowing anything that goes on within his family and not spending any quality time with his son, and all the mini subplots of various characters falling in love or wanting to have sex...

There are no picture-perfect or touristy or romantic scenes of Paris but it's still Paris nonetheless and of course the way the scenes have been shot are just beautiful...

This is a film that definitely keeps your interest, and there are no boring parts. It's a all round feel-good funny movie, and apart from a few hilariously raunchy scenes I feel that it would actually be a good family movie to watch at home on a Saturday night. Of course I am not recommending that... go and see it on the big screen, you won't regret it! :D

7/10.

Trailer / Bande Annonce :




imdb: Micmacs à tire-larigot
premiere.fr: Micmacs à tire-larigot

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