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While some directors rush to release a new film every year or two, French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet tends to take his time. Since his quirky 2001 romance, Amélie, captured the hearts of audiences around the world, Jeunet has released just two films: A Very Long Engagement in 2004 and now Micmacs, an entertaining caper that was well worth the wait.
Micmacs follows the adventures of Bazil (Dany Boon), a man who hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to firearms. When he was just a boy, his life took a turn for the worse after his father was killed by a landmine in the Sahara. Thirty years later, as he’s leaving work one night, Bazil is hit in the head by a stray bullet from a random shooting. The surgeon decides to leave the bullet in his head, since removing it could kill him, but once he recovers, Bazil suddenly finds himself unemployed and homeless.
Eventually, Bazil is taken in by a group of misfits who live at a nearby dump. But while he’s out running errands one day, he comes across the offices of two arms manufacturers: the one that made the bullet in his head and the one that made the mine that killed his father. And, with the help of his new friends, he decides to exact his revenge.
With its timeless cinematic style, its eccentric characters, and its offbeat sense of humor, Micmacs is sure to delight fans of Amélie. Once again, Jeunet populates his film with lovable outsiders—contortionists, prodigies, daredevils, and engineers. Then he pits them against The Man: a pair of slimy, sinister businessmen who will do anything to make a buck—even if it means helping foreign despots kill thousands of innocent people.
In a way, Micmacs is like a French live-action Fantastic Mr. Fox, with a band of clever little guys working together to take on a group of rich, self-important villains. Jeunet has cleverly crafted every ingenious detail of a story that’s wily and whimsical—and it’s just so much fun to watch Bazil and his friends as they plan each new prank, outsmarting their unwitting opponents time and time again.
But Micmacs isn’t just some brainy outsider comedy. No matter what your comedic tastes, you’ll find plenty here to laugh about—from its subtle, pitch-black wit to its zany physical comedy. And with each additional viewing, you’re sure to find some new little treat that Jeunet left behind for the more observant members of the audience (hint: look for the billboards).
Clearly, Jeunet took his time to think through each and every detail of Micmacs—from the brilliantly witty script to the beautifully stylized cinematography. If his next film is just as smart and funny as Micmacs, it’ll be well worth yet another five-year wait.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s quirky caper also offers a number of extras. The main making-of feature goes behind the scenes to explore various moments in the filmmaking process. This 47-minute feature shows everything from the making of several scenes to surprise set visits to the actors’ antics on set. Even more interesting, however, are the post-production parts of the feature—including the screen test, the viewers’ initial feedback, and the resulting retouches. If you don’t speak French, though, this feature is sometimes pretty tough to follow—between the captions and the fast-moving subtitles.
Fortunately, the linguistically-challenged will have no problem with the other features. Animations: Absurd Deaths shows the step-by-step process of making the animated scenes (without commentary). And the 10-minute Q&A with Jeunet and actress Julie Ferrier was filmed at the Tribeca Film Festival—so it’s entirely in English. Even if you usually skip Q&A features, this one’s worth a quick look—because Jeunet has plenty of amusing stories and interesting insights.
Even Jeunet’s director’s commentary track is in English. And though his accent might cause you to miss a word here and there, you won’t have too much of a problem—and you’ll be rewarded with all kinds of stories about the filmmaking process.
While none of the extras on the Micmacs Blu-ray are necessarily must-sees, fans of Jeunet’s work will still want to take a few minutes to check them out. I recommend starting with the Q&A before at least skimming through the others.
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