Jeff's Reviews

Thoughts on every movie I've ever seen.

Delicatessen (1991)

Directed by Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Starring Pascal Benezech, Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus

Author

A quirky, tongue-in-cheek look at dystopian future, similar to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Anachronisms and sillyisms and goofy TV clips make it nostalgic and timeless at the same time. But Jeunet makes this one distinctly French, with goofy-looking and overly expressive characters, exceedingly silly humor and physical comedy gags, and bouncy accordion music.

The saturated, impressionistic lighting, interesting angles and zooms, and varying color palette (mostly golden browns, yellows, and oranges) from room to room are a lesson in cinematography. And the intro credits are beautiful. Jeunet really does have a knack for rich and stimulating visuals.

All pretty impressive for a young, self-taught director. Unfortunately, despite all this, the movie is a bit boring.

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