Delicatessen (1991)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro. Starring Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Karin Viard, Rufus, Ticky Holgado, Anne-Maria Pisani, Silvie Laguna, Jean-François Perrier, Edith Ker, Jacues Mathou, Howard Vernon. [R]

Jeunet’s feature directorial debut (and first of two collaborations with Marc Caro) is a post-apocalyptic black comedy of a crumbling apartment building over a butcher’s shop run by the murderous landlord (Dreyfus); trouble is, there aren’t too many cows or pigs around, so the meat he sells to his tenants comes from more readily available sources—other humans, to be exact. His latest would-be victim (Pinon) answers a job posting and charms some of the other tenants, including the landlord’s daughter (Dougnac), but even if the butcher blade doesn’t get him sooner or later, there’s always that pack of vegetarian revolutionaries operating in the sewers… Visually enthralling (if a bit chaotic at times), the movie is full of eccentric delights and horrors, and the sort of skewed sensibilities/humor that makes it feel more original than it actually is. Well worth watching for its bizarre design, mordant playfulness, and elaborate camera tricks, even though the whole thing is hollow around the heart (and soul) without a fully-shaped character on hand to identify with, and the last act emphasizes wreckage over creativity. Caro has a small role as one of the subterranean guerrillas. The title card on the US video release stated “presented by Terry Gilliam”; fitting, considering how reminiscent the visual schemes and designs are to said director’s work (Brazil especially).

71/100