Review: Micmacs à tire-larigot
The Pitch: French oddballs do a Yojimbo with arms manufacturers.
The Review: The first foreign language film I ever saw at the cinema was Jeunet and Caro’s ‘The City Of Lost Children’. Jeunet has had a fascinating career, from the horrors (most of them unintentional) of Alien Resurrection to the charm and sweetness of Amelie. So for me, it’s fascinating to see how far he’s come.
And actually, it’s pretty much full circle. After his adaptation of Life of Pi fell through, he’s gone back to his roots and built a slight confection, full of charm and oddness but light on story or character development.
Another way to think of would be if M.C. Escher and Heath Robinson had co-directed a remake of Ocean’s Eleven, with a French Mr. Bean in the central role. All of the group bring a particular skill to the party, but it’s little more than a collection of set pieces, each one more ingenious than the last.
However, everything is so well constructed it’s hard not to warm to what’s on offer. As long as you don’t have expectations of sweeping narratives or life-changing character arcs, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.
Why see it at the cinema: To fully take in the amazing level of background detail normally reserved for Pixar animations.
The Score: 7/10
The Movie Evangelist 