TRIBECA 2010: MICMACS Review
Of all the films I was looking forward to at the festival Micmacs had me the most excited. I am a long time Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan and despite having heard slightly derisive 'it's more of the same' from early reports I was still excited, more of the same would be more of what I enjoy.
Jeunet's work tends to provide a lighthearted
escapism amidst more serious themes, each film creating it's own unique
world in which the quirk and elaborate mise-en-scène are plausible
and exemplify the themes and narrative purpose. An otherworldly magic
resides within Jeunet's worlds, from his early, heavily dystopian work
with co-director Marc Caro to the blissful naivety of Amélie's world, the feeling of being
transported elsewhere is ever present.
Micmacs chooses not exist within one of these
alternate realities, oddly taking place within contemporary society. The characters of Micmacs, a collective of
salvage artists and performers, seem largely out of place when the real
world breaks in. Imagine your standard Jeunet character using youtube
and you can see the disruptive nature of the setting.
The aim of Micmacs is clear very early on as
we see the protagonist Bazil seated in a video store watching Bogart
play Philip Marlowe in Howard Hawk's The Big Sleep. As Bazil
watches the videotape a commotion is heard outside which leads to a
bullet getting lodged in Bazil's skull. The title of the film translates
to 'Non-stop Shenanigans' or 'Non-stop Madness' and that is exactly
what happens. Once Bazil wakes up he has inherited a set of tics and
mannerisms that allow him to fit right in at the Micmacs
(shenanigans) collective as well as the urge to pantomime in the Buster
Keaton tradition. Old Hollywood references, Jeunet idiom, lite arms
trade commentary and a detective story in brevity, the themes are set up
early so the madness can begin.
As the title suggests the
film's plot is rather loose, Bazil and the collective embark on a
mission to take down two arms dealers, with plenty of craziness along
the way. The narrative impetus is slight and the madness seems to
happen in sake of itself, the events playing out as little vignettes.
My fondness for Jeunet is in his storytelling, his ability to wrap a
meaningful narrative in visual flair, which is not found in Micmacs.
Micmacs is not a
typical Jeunet film, it is not more of the same, but it is entertaining.
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