Review of Micmacs (2009) by Rosie T — 21 Feb 2010

For Mic Macs, Jeunet has consulted his best recipes well -- quirky characters that dance the line between fantasy and documentary, beautiful cinematography that owes as much to its French locations as it does to the dusty hues and muted colour filters. A rollercoaster narrative with a plot that is as equally important as its protagonists, allowing them to drive the drama, rather than the story.

The dichotomy of fantasy and reality works in the film, which, at times edges closely to politics and current affairs (one of the antagonists has a photograph of Nicolas Sarkozy) on his office desk), and then pulls you back into the world of the surreal Jeunet pioneered in The City of Lost Children -- with the main character, Bazil, after a series of unfortunate events that leave him with a bullet permanently embedded in his skull, living in an underground cavern in a subterranean wasteland with a contortionist, a human calculator and an ex-con named Slammer(amongst others).

The characters are so rich that a large amount of the comedy of the film is invested in their idiosyncrasies, and whilst I did not find myself caring about them in the same way that I did the characters in Amelie (in fact, at times, I felt almost sorry for the 'baddies') their traits and foibles are really what made this film so enjoyable -- not the plot.

Beautifully filmed and scripted, with twists and turns so clever I wonder that Jeunet himself may have had a past career in espionage, this film offers an immensely enjoyable amalgamation of social satire, striking cinematography, fantasmical surreality and a heartwarming tale. Definitely a must see.