Not a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s films, even though I have seen them all except Micmacs. His characters’ relentless mugging eccentricities annoy to no end. He tries too hard to be weird, and it is off putting to me. Why does he include a shot of Amilie exploding out of her mother’s vagina in the first scene? I can see him twirling his French mustache “AA zee miracle of childbirth!” Who cares? That kind of sensationalism plays well with French audiences (as Mozart so astutely catered to in his Paris symphony) but Jeunet does not know where the line between quirky and too clever is.
This finally came to my town this week and I loved it. It’s also the first Jeunet movie I’ve had a chance to see on the big screen which was an incredible treat. The only downside is that I now lament not getting to see the others on the big screen.
Micmacs was way too over-the-top precious and had a sort of clinical whimsicality that I found very offputting.
On the other hand, I’d rather see that than Mesrine, to pick another French movie that is just now out. Mesrine is a superb production with brilliant acting and great cinematography, but it is deliberately soulless and alienating, following the French nihilistic noir tradition.
I have had the pleasure of seeing all of Jeunet’s movies in the theater except for A Very Long Engagement. I had read that Terry Gilliam was a big supporter of City of Lost Children, so when that showed, I decided to go, and it was one of the more mind-blowing cinematic experiences of my life.
