Delicatessen (With English Subtitles)

Like Burton, Jeunet also came to film direction through animated shorts and it's this animated sensibility that has given him the discipline and vision to create truly amazing live action films. Which is one of the main reasons why this subtitled film seems to be such a success with American audiences. It thrives on that most American of cinematic sensibilities, a heightened sense of unreality. Most European movies prefer to dwell on the emotions that lurk beneath the mundane aspects of everyday life. Not so stateside where such an elevation of the ordinary is met with the Homeric cry of "Bo-ring!" It's not surprising then that European directors such as Jeunet and Pedro Almodovar will continue to have success across the water as long as their fantastical and colourful stories glitter bright in the land that likes to dazzle.


STUNNED...   April 17, 2004
E. Belianski (Toronto, CANADA)
That was my impression after watching through this very strange movie.

I had started watching it expecting a "weird French film", and that was indeed what I got at first. I couldn't believe the atmosphere that the directors had created in this film, though I imagine it might have been somewhat familiar to some Francophones living in the destruction after WW2. The introductory sequence to this film is MASTERFULLY shot, and it raised my expectations quite a bit.
Unfortunately, the same level of energy didn't seem to last when the movie really started. The atmosphere was fantastic, yes, and the inventions that were made in this movie (a MUSICAL SAW?) were totally unique. However, no amount of weird atmosphere can amend a movie if the story and characters aren't up to the job. In fact, it's a lot harder to create good characters & plot for a movie like this, because the movie has to make sense within its own unique world and yet make us the viewers feel like something REAL is at stake.
For a while, it seemed like Delicatessen was only as deep as its cover; scenes whose only purpose seemed to be to show the inventions of the movie dragged on too long, and the various conversations that the tenants of the apartment building had (I'm assuming you know the general story here) seemed to have no meaning. The Troglodytes that came in about 1/2-way through also didn't quite seem to fit in.
However, by the end of the movie all was justified. I realized just what an enormous task the movie had done; this is not a story of just the two main characters, but a story of at about a dozen tenants of the apartment building. By the end of the movie, each tenant of the apartment building was portrayed as a unique individual, and each had their own story. These mini-stories are masterfully weaved through the main plot of the movie, and much to the movie's benefit, because I came to care for these secondary characters as much as for the main ones.

The movie was also DEEPLY disturbing for me to watch. It doesn't wince at talking about the subject of cannibalism, and the true worth of a human being. It was very disconcerning when I realized, near the end, that this movie had something to say about OUR world as well, and it was not a very approving message.

As strange as it may sound, this could really happen.
Watch the film, and think about it.


A dark post-apocalyptic cannibal comedy with hope...   April 1, 2004
Kim Anehall (Chicago, IL USA)
In a not so distant future the apocalypse has stricken earth with its full force and famine is driving people to commit macabre acts. In this world a clown arrives to a small French apartment building where he is applying for a job as a building engineer and in return he gets a free apartment. However, tenants of the building have a dark secret which they intend to keep from the clown as they all anticipate the moment when they will enjoy his fresh meat. The question is whether the circus performer has some tricks in his bag that can help him survive. Despite the gruesome plot of Delicatessen, the film offers warm and sensitive drama as well as hysterical comedy that will mesmerize the audience as the story unfolds. The performance of the cast and the cinematography enhances the comical situations as well as the ingenious story that deals with love, perseverance, hope, and much more, which in the end presents a brilliant cinematic experience.


At Film's End One Wonders...   January 6, 2004
yygsgsdrassil (Crossroads America)
...what will the meat addicts do to supply their craving?

...where will all those Moo toys go?

...is Livingston a good monniker for a monkey?

...wottop with the dude in the watery room?

And finally,

...how much corn does it take to hire a terrorist?

Good movie.