Last year in autumn I went to the cinema in Antwerp. While people were piling up in front of another entrance, some stupid sequel about hot cars and hot girls, I found myself in a total empty room. I never experienced this, especially in the Metropolis of Antwerp.
The movie another little treasure of Jean-Pierre Jeunet is about an average person working in a video rental. His youth started cruel with the loss of his father who died as a mine sweeper in a bomb squad. Some stuff from his dad was sent back home, including a piece of shrapnel. The image of this piece with the name of the factory was burned in his mind. Many years later he sits in the video store and one day there is some noise outside of the store. He walks to the door to look what is going on. Standing in the door a strange situation is unfolding in front of him. Two rival gangs are having a shoot out, complete with car and motorcycle chasing. One bullet misses the target and hits Bazil (the video store guy) in the head.
This is where the story starts. After operation, actually a non-operation, he ends up loosing his job, loosing his home and on top of that finding his personal stuff scattered in the neighborhood. Back at the store arguing with his former boss the girls that tooks his place hand him over the hull from the bullet that hit him. He keeps it as a souvenir. Bazil is not the depressive kind, though he doesn't speak much during the movie. He get's on the way and first starts making some money. He has an absolute talent in synchronized speech of movies. In the metro system of Paris he makes money by singing synchronized to a girl that stand behind a column.
One day he meets an old jailbird, who has little threatening talks but in heart is a true and lovely person, he takes Bazil to his home, a pile of garbage. But looks can deceive the pile of garbage is nothing more then a camouflage for their home. His new job is gathering metal scrap and things people throw away. Quickly adapting to his new situation he finds him one day on the way on a big boulevard. And suddenly he is like struck by lightning. Across the street he recognizes the sign with the name of the factory who created the mine that killed his death. But surprised exactly on the other side of the road is the factory who created the bullet that almost killed him. He chooses the direct approach and enters the factory that killed his dad. He doesn't get far. Thrown out at the street, a plan unfolds in his mind, it is time for revenge.
Micmacs is a typical Jeunet movie. It is not hard to recognize his hand. When you watched Delicatessen and Amelie, you instantly know it's him. That was also what the critics wrote. I personally think that it's a brilliant movie. I love his art of film making. I think people these days are to much spoiled with the mega billion dollar movies from Hollywood. Micmacs is a small story about small people. Victims of the big money and big companies. And they take their revenge with their means. It is dark comedy at it's finest, not so dark as Delicatessen but dark enough for me. I would say it is also much more art, because the effort Jeunet takes in the details. Every shot in the movie is like a small piece of art, rich in detail, color and light.
A must see movie for fans of this genre!
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