Jean-Pierre Jeunet's gorgeously romantic Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain is unquestionably one of the most beloved and popular films of the last decade. Jeunet's amazing visual vocabulary and hyperactive imagination provide the foundation for all his cinematic creations, and this ability to be both playful and serious is used to devastating effect in his latest piece of movie magic, Micmacs à tire-larigot.
Drawing on one of France's most popular screen stars, the incorrigible Dany Boon from the comedy megahit Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, as well as a cast of some of the country's best-known actors, Jeunet turns on the afterburners in this searing piece of romantic filmmaking set against the storm clouds of warring arms dealers. Boon plays the role of Bazil, a man who was orphaned as a youngster when his soldier father was killed by a roadside bomb. Now working in a video store and trying to find his place in the world, Bazil is hit by a stray bullet in a freak drive-by shooting incident. Emerging from hospital, he finds himself jobless and penniless, but good fortune appears in the form of an ex-con, Tire-Larigot. The ingenious salvage artist ekes out a marginal existence living in a scrap dump together with a tirelessly good-humoured and resourceful group of misfits. Charmed and overwhelmed by the hospitality he receives, Bazil turns the dump into a warm underground home full of magical tools and sculptures made from discarded junk. Meanwhile, an opportunity to get even with the arms manufacturers who killed his father and left him with a bullet in the head keeps Bazil busy plotting sweet revenge.
The kinetic level of invention and narrative so familiar to Jeunet lovers is on full display in Micmacs. This is a film that revels in contemporary contrasts. While the rich arms dealers scheme away and make weapons, Bazil and his rag-tag band of friends create objects to delight and charm. Along the way, Bazil finds romance amid the craziness of the modern world.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet was born in Roanne, France. His short films include
L'Évasion (78),
Le Manège (80) and
Foutaises (89). He co-directed the features
Delicatessen (91) and
La Cité des enfants perdus (95) with Marc Caro and went on to direct
Alien: Resurrection (97),
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (01), which won the People's Choice Award at the 2001 Festival,
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (04) and
Micmacs à tire-larigot (09).