Micmacs
Review
by Anthony Morris
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Micmacs
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Writer director Jean‑Pierre Jeune continues
to move away
from the darkness of his earlier, more interesting films (The City of
Lost Children) and into the bland, washed‑out light (Amelie) with this
tale of a video store clerk (Dany Boon) who gets shot in the head,
falls in with a bunch of tip‑dwelling savants, and enlists their help
in taking down the arms manufacturers responsible for his injury (and
the death of his father besides).
What is basically an extremely
lightweight caper movie is kept mildly interesting by Jeunet's constant
references to other films, cartoons, comics and other aspects of pop
culture.
It mirrors the scavenging approach of his
band of
heroes, but - like everything else in this film - there's no connection
to reality or deeper meaning behind it.
Comedy doesn't need a point,
but with a cast of fun but bland cartoon characters pulling off
impossible schemes in stylised locations, there's nothing here to
ground the laughs or give you much of a reason to care.
Individual
scenes work brilliantly and the visuals are often stunning, but Jeune's
lightweight approach drains even arms dealers of any real threat or
menace, and without any real variation in tone the whole thing turns
stale well before the end.
3 out
of 5
Micmacs
Australian release: 1st April,
2010
Official
Site: Micmacs
Cast: Dany Boon, André Dussollier,
Nicolas Marié, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Yolande Moreau, Julie Ferrier,
Omar Sy
Director: Jean-Pierre
Jeunet
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