Movie of the week:
DELICATESSEN
Contrary to the impression that I may sometimes give, I don’t always know everything.
For example, When I read the synopsis for this week’s movie DELICATESSEN,
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet deftly combines horror, sci-fi, and humor in Delicatessen, a morbid comedy set in a visually ravishing futuristic dystopia.
Now I must confess that I’d never actually used or otherwise come across the word “dystopia” before – but it sounded nice. However, someone nearby – someone much more literate than I, someone who reads more books – assured me, “No, no no! That’s bad! Very bad indeed!” I remained skeptical as I ran for the dictionary (I still have a dictionary made out of actual paper. It may be worth money some day). And, lo and behold – they were right. A ‘dystopia’ is the opposite of a ‘utopia’. A quick page flip to the U’s, just to reassure myself and I had a better understanding of the film synopsis …..or did I? How does ‘comedy’ and ‘visually ravishing’ fit into the same sentence as ‘dystopia’? I thought about this for a while, then realized that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was also responsible for the film, The City of Lost Children – then I understood. If you haven’t seen ‘The City of Lost Children’ ……..well, that’s a recommendation for another day. By the way, he also brought us Amelie and A Very Long Engagement, two more FranksFilms recommendations, and all three could be less similar.
So, when I finally got around to watching DELICATESSEN, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I was done, I was pleasantly surprised – and the more I think about it, the better I like it. Let’s deconstruct that synopsis given above in light of the film I saw.
“Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet deftly combines….” yes he does. He’s very good at creating ‘mood’ films that combine many unusual characters, color palettes, and settings to create an other-worldy atmosphere. Perhaps that’s why they asked him to direct Alien 4: Alien Resurrection. Not his best film, but it did look great. I think he does better with his own material.
“…horror….. ” – not by a long shot. The whole ‘dystopian’ element notwithstanding, it’s more whimsical than frightening.
“….sci-fi….” – this is stretching things a bit. In the sense that it portrays an other-worldly alternate universe, I suppose this is true – but there is no science of any kind involved. But then again, neither did Star Wars (There! I said it!).
“…humor….” – yes, plenty of that. The humor is mostly physical or visual.
“….a morbid comedy….” as I said …….
“…visually ravishing….” The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines “ravishing” as “unusually attractive, pleasing, or striking”. I choose the words unusual and striking from this list.
“…futuristic…” – why does everybody assume that any landscape that is unusual or alien must be in the future. There is nothing in this film that suggests this takes place in the future. Of course, there is nothing in this film that suggests otherwise. Some describe it as post-apocalyptic – I just think of it as an alternate reality.
and finally – “….dystopia.” It is certainly the opposite of a Utopia – dark, funny, morbid, and funny – and, of course, visually ravishing – as are all of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s films.
