Film Review | Micmacs

While Hollywood comedies tend to be superficial, and sometimes maybe even a little bit wacky, few are genuinely silly. The Hangover and Jackass tap into a frat-boy humour which hinges on adolescent ‘truth or dare’ forfeits more than a desire to genuinely entertain, and cartoons these days are either too damn adult or too damn childish to be able to give you a genuine kick.

Enter Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The French auteur did in fact make a concession to Hollywood over a decade ago (when he directed the universally-panned Alien: Resurrection – fourth instalment of the Sigourney Weaver saga, and its death knell). But it was actually his excellent, home-grown farces that made him a household name.

With Micmacs (a 2009 inexplicably only just hitting our multiplexes now), all of Jeunet’s trademarks come home to roost: in fact, the director himself refers to this “satire on the arms trade” as a collage of both Delicatessen and Amelie.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the film doesn’t quite feel as fresh as its predecessors. But for whatever it’s worth, Micmacs still has enough winning set pieces and delightful (if cartoonish) characters to make it a far more worthwhile experience than its competitors.
Bazil (Dany Boon), is a cinephile who has the acute good luck of also being a video store clerk.

The one thing we know about his background is that his father died after stepping on a landmine. But the weapons industry once again gets in the way of Bazil’s happiness after he becomes an innocent bystander of motorcycle shootout. A stray bullet lodges in his brain, but as luck would have it (this is Jeunet, so you’re expected to suspend disbelief), he manages to stay alive – if never fully present – thanks to a precarious medical procedure.

Having lost both his job and his flat while he was away, Bazil finds himself wandering the streets, vowing to take revenge on the munitions firms that contributed to his grief.

Help comes in the unlikely guise of a ragtag group of scavengers who scrape together a living by recycling odds and ends. Each of them boast unique traits: Elastic Girl (Julie Ferrier) is a contortionist, Mama Chow (Yolande Moreau) is a cook and leader of the crew, Remington (Omar Sy) is a former ethnographer who speaks in old-fashioned cliches, Buster (Dominique Pinon) is a human cannonball, Tiny Pete (Michel Crémadès) is an artist who designs moving sculptures from scavenged trash, Slammer is a former convict and guillotine survivor, and Calculator (Marie-Julie Baup) is a young woman who measures and calculates things with a glance.

And because they just so happen to be up for it, Bazil’s new friends help him concoct a plan against two rival arms dealers: one of whom was responsible for his father’s death, the other for the bullet that sits snugly in his brain… and makes him vulnerable to some heady hallucinations.

Jeunet’s film is bright, brash and colourful, populated by quirky characters and equally zany, perfectly executed gags. Unlike King George, Jeunet’s strong suit definitely is timing, and thanks to that there are belly laughs aplenty here as well as clever set pieces.
Which makes Micmacs a great experience for a newcomer to the auteur’s work.

Those with some previous experience of the master might find it to be a bit of a ‘greatest hits’ collection, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’ll make for a fun night out.