Plot
In a post-apocalyptic world food is very hard to come by. When a young circus clown gets a job as a handyman for a Butcher who runs an apartment block, things are not all that they first seem. The Butcher and his tenants have some cannibalistic plans for their new odd job man, as they have with all his predecessors.
Review
Ever since watching the wonderful Amelie I have had an interest in checking out more of Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s work, so when the opportunity to review Delicatessen came along I was more than happy to take it. Delicatessen was filmed backed in 1991 and was also co-directed by Marc Caro, it also features a completely different (much darker) story than Amelie so I think it is a little unfair to compare the two films. However much of Jeunet’s visionary style that was used so effectively in Amelie is present in Delicatessen and this is most definitely no bad thing.
The whole thing takes place in a rather strange post-apocalyptic world where food (particularly meat) is extremely hard to come by and the Butcher Jean-Claude Dreyfus and his tenants have a very sinister way of getting food. The thing I really liked about the film was the ingenious way that the comedy manages to just keep it above becoming far too dark and sinister.
I guess it’s a tribute to the directors that I so quickly found myself getting absorbed in such a strange world, full of very eccentric characters. Louison (Dominique Pinon) and Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) are such innocent people that they are a stark almost uncomfortable contrast to the other characters within the apartments. Then there are the troglodytes, an underground (literally) group of anti-cannibalistic fighters, who have an almost cartoon-like style to them.
I also liked the way that the film doesn’t rely on excessive or graphic violence in order to portray it’s vision, the violent scenes are either left off screen or to the viewers imagination which for this kind of film, is the way it should be. In fact Jeunet even comments on the fact in his commentary track.
While the whole 90 minutes of the film are highly entertaining there are a few “magic” scenes for me that make it something special. Strangely enough these are the more light-hearted scenes. For example without wishing to spoil the film for you there is a scene where Lousion is trying to find a squeaky spring on the bed of Mademoiselle Plusse (Karin Viard). The two of them starting springing up and down and side-to-side on the bed, in tune with music on the TV. Trust me when I say that it looks better on screen than it does when I write about it.
Video/Audio
As far as the video quality goes, this is a difficult one for me to quantify. It is presented in a 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen format, which I’m assuming is the original cinematic format. The reason it is difficult to assess is the fact that film is presented with a very bleak almost monochrome colouring, which I guess is used to portray the starkness of the world they live in. There is some evidence of print damage and occasional digital problems, especially with some of the foggier scenes.
The French Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track (no English I’m afraid) is good enough but nothing exceptional. If you can speak French you will find the dialogue clear, for the rest of us English subtitles are available.
Extras
There’s a commentary track by Jeunet in French, subtitles for the track are also available in English. Jeunet start the commentary by explaining that Caro does not like commentaries and therefore turned down the offer to do this one. As in Amelie this is another good commentary from Jeunet, he is often quite honest and critical about his own work. He also occasionally says some less than complimentary things about the American style of film making.
From The Archives Of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is a selection of screen tests and behind the scenes footage and runs at around 7-minutes long. 'Fine Slices By Diane Bertrand', is a 13-minute behind the scenes feature, again in French with English subtitles. Finally there is a collection of one trailer and six teaser trailers.
Overall
If you want to look for something a bit different to the usual Hollywood offerings and don’t mind your comedy being rather dark, then I can highly recommend this DVD. From the opening scene with the current tenant dressing up as garbage and hiding in the dustbin you know you’re in for something a bit different and this is certainly what you’ll get.
It is presented on a more than adequate DVD with a reasonable if not exceptional selection of Extras. Video and Audio quality are again acceptable if not reference quality. All in all this gets a well deserved 4 out of 5 from me, although this mark reflects the quality of the film more than the DVD.
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