Micmacs

5/10

If you liked Delicatessen, you’ll probably like this; if not, then you won’t.

As well as the deli movie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has also inflicted Amelie and A Very Long Engagement on the cinema world, and I remain a devout sceptic where his films are concerned. In some ways his style is reminiscent of Terry Giliam with its love of the handmade, the eccentric and the visually striking. But his films lack Gilliam’s humanity and variety. In Micmacs, we have the usual oddball assortment of freaks and outsiders who band together to exact revenge on weapons manufacturers because one of their number has a bullet in his head, fired from a gun which they made. Everything is as elaborate, jokey and outre as you would expect, but with my tedious preference for real people, I find this style is getting increasingly boring.

Philip Raby

Front Row Films

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