Delicatessen [DVD]

If you liked Island of Lost Children, then this one is for you. Same director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Same basic color pallete, same dystopian present, this one set in a post-apocalyptic France. Where in France, never stated. What the apocalypse was, never mentioned. It's just bad now, with food in short supply, but it appears water and electricity are chugging along just fine.This is a cannibalism black comedy, and it works. The characters are distinct and a few decidedly over the top; this is French cinema, after all.And you get a European clown, if you know what I mean. Not just European, but A French clown, so if you are creeped out by clowns this one will peg you red. And a French clown who does an act with a chimpanzee. Yeesh.You basically know where all of this is going to go, and eventually it gets there, with a number of interesting and unexpected twists along the way. Most things haven't really changed, and it's unclear what the future holds, but love has won out and things are looking up, at least spiritually.This is a 1991 film, so was made 1989-90. Terry Gilliam's Brazil was 1985, so if some of the characters and their garb evokes Brazil and presages Twelve Monkeys, I think you're probably on to something there.Bottom line: this movie is about as un-Hollywood as you can get, in language (English subtitles), color palette, characters, and above all, storyline. The setting and the narrative are disturbing, but I found this a joy to watch, interesting, different, imaginative, original, and above all, not predictable.

So, "Delicatessen", the first film by the guy who went on to make "City Of Lost Children", "Amélie", "Alien: Resurrection", "Mic-Macs", and other quirky masterpieces.Instead of critiquing the film, which is, by the way, very good, I'd like to address the setting.I see from most of the reviews here that people think the film is set in some vague post-apocalyptic limbo. And if one knew nothing about France, I could see how one would get that impression. The movie is actually set in a WWII-in-progress limbo, and it deals with a subject that no one talks about: cannibalism during the German occupation of France. At one point during the film, a motorcycle courier shows up out of nowhere, and the building residents ask him about "The War". That's just one of the many hints pointing to occupied France.There were shortages of everything, especially meat, during the Occupation. And it was much worse in the country than in the big cities. People did whatever they could to survive.My great-aunt was in the Résistance in Northern France, and although she didn't talk about it much, I did overhear her talking to my parents about it once. She told them what was done to certain Nazis that were captured or killed. Some of them turned up as meat. Soldier meat was called "porc" ("pork"), officer meat was "boeuf" ("beef").The film puts a darkly humorous face on this, but it is part of the ghosts that haunt France's past.This happened not just during the Occupation, but also for several years afterwards.Not many people realize just how much of a beating France took and how long the healing process was.The most incredible thing is that a film as breathtakingly beautiful as Jean Cocteau's "La Belle Et La Bête" ("Beauty And The Beast") came out in 1946, despite the abject and deep misery of France at that time. It is truly a tribute to the creative spirit of humanity.Anyway, I'm gonna buy "Delicatessen" on Blu-ray now because it's damned funny. :D

No one other movie suggests itself as a comparison. Start with an after-the-collapse movie, this time in a suburb where the survivors are just trying to live life as normally as possible. Add in French maladies of the spirit and interest in food. Season with a dash of  Brazil , turn it out into the sewers of Paris, and bake until the black humor comes to the top.It would be easy to give too much away in this movie, so I'll avoid the ongoing surprises in the plot. It has a few elements of  The City of Lost Children 's surrealism, though, a pair of prankish small boys always close by, and a likeable, reasonably chaste couple as central characters.Now that I think about it, this is one of the most original movies I've seen in ages. I can't compare it to any one other flick; it takes at least a half dozen to represent this movie's many facets. If you want something different with a few grisly (and gristly) giggles, give this one a shot.-- wiredweird

It took awhile for me to get into foreign language films. As I gradually came over, I realized just how many amazing movies are out there waiting to be discovered. I have yet to find everything due to my lack of exposure to them. This one is just so unique and definitely is for a specific audience. It's tough to describe your attraction to movies like that. They just hit all of the right notes. There are popular pieces of fiction and movies that I still am not a fan of, and even more along those lines that I may refuse to see.I also don't understand how certain movies get made that have had obviously no real effort put into them. A lot of care was put into this story, and every little detail about its personality. You want to explore a wide selection? Just check it out.This one is in my TOP FIVE favorite foreign language films. Shares that with Cinema Paradiso, City of God, Das Experiment and Elite Squad. So many more have fought for those spots and have come really close. The Intouchables was a recent one I just loved. I really love Breathless, Seven Samurai and Hero. Martial Arts movies are my thing too.

A dark comedy worth taking the time to savour. Along with the main tale there are the little side-stories of the characters living in the various apartments which all intertwine in some way as the film unfolds. One can try and search for hidden meanings - the cannibal carnivores and those subversive vegetarians - or just enjoy it for the curious tale that it is. Despite its dark nature there is little violence or blood which is a good change from the gore that would likely appear if this was a Hollywood spectacular. The English subtitles capture the nuances as well as the original soundtrack does.

Charmingly quirky, outstanding moments when two of the main characters locate a skweeky bed spring by sitting on the bed and swaying to Hawaiian music and character Aurora, who believes she hears ghostly voices, attempts suicide using a bath and an electric fire.

Although the picture quality is good blu-ray quality, there are none of the background features that are on the dvd release.Disappointing.

A dark comedic view of a future world, with an endearing love story within a society on the edge of extinction, but with heroes valiantly fighting to maintain some semblance of order.

I regard Jeunet as the finest contemporary film maker, and have known this film since it was shown on Channel 4 years ago. This DVD was bought to replace an ageing VCR. Black comedy at its best!