Review: Micmacs

If someone was asked who Jean-Pierre Jeunet was, they might guess he was a French poet, or maybe even a philosopher. In reality, Jeunet is a famous French director, responsible for amongst other things the charming 2001 comedy Amelie. He's a sort of French Tim Burton, a director with a great eye for visual style. He uses bright colors against sepia tones, creating a dazzling, dream-like world that is often inhabited by outcasts. Jeunet's newest film Micmacs, was just released. Is it worth your hard-earned cash? Read on to find out!

Micmac tells the story of Bazil (Dany Boon), who as a child loses his father to a land mine, an event which causes him to move to a new town and go to a strict catholic school, until he can longer take it and sneaks away in a truck to a new life.

Fast forward to 30 years later, and Bazil is working in a small video store, watching The Big Sleep and mouthing Bogart's lines in French. By random happenstance, a shootout between a motorcyclist and car cruises by. In his curiosity, Bazil stands out the door, only to hit by a stray bullet that lands straight into his head. After going to the hospital, Bazil's surgeon decides to leave the bullet in his head, risking slipping into a coma rather than possible instant death if he goes in to take it out.

Bazil returns to his video store, only to find his boss has replaced him with a young woman, leaving him jobless. He gets by performing on the street, doing everything from doing the robot to mimicking a woman's singing. One day, he is taken pity on by an old man on the street, who takes him to a new home in a cozy fort-like home in a junkyard, where he lives with an adopted "family".

Meet Bazil's new family

Bazil fits right in, amongst a contortionist, a man who is constantly trying to break the world record for human cannonball distance, and an inventor, amongst other outcasts. After getting the bullet shell back from the slug that landed in his brain and following a remembrance of the landmine that killed his father, Bazil decides to get revenge on the two arms company that ruined his mother's life and nearly ended his. He works alone at first, but before long his family insists that they need to help him. Eventaully, everyone has their part to play.

What follows is a sort of caper farce, with Bazil and his family plotting ways to get back at the arms dealer, even pitting them against each other. The farcical comedy is very along the lines of Chaplin, relying on visual gags rather than dialogue. Jeunet's beautiful visual style adds a lot to the plot, using colors, cartoonish characters, and physical comedy to keep the audience smiling.  The film undoubtedly drags at times, but never to a point that takes the viewer out.

Bottom line: While not as enchanting as Amelie, Micmacs is a fun caper comedy that uses great visuals and humorous characters to keep the audience smiling and cheering for Bazil. If you're a fan of movies that pop visually, French culture and humor, or any of Jeunet's previous films, you'll enjoy the film.

Grade: B