I had forgotten what a great film Delicatessen is. The Ragazzo got it from our version of netflicks (The NYPublic Library), as he had never seen it and I requested something in French. Written by Gilles Adrien (The City of Lost Children) and directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), it is set in a nameless post-apocalyptic city that looks a lot like Paris. We don't know what the apocalypse was, but what is left of society is pretty desperate in ways I won't get into so as not to spoil the fun. The film is full of the blackest macabre humor. The aesthetic is gorgeous trashy-artistique - think the lavish delightful imagination of Amelie meeting the mechanistic baroque vision of horror of Brazil (one of my top 10). The opening credits remind me some of the fascinating short films of the Quay Brothers, which I also cannot say enough about - chills and thrills, with an emphasis on the chills. The image from Street of Crocodiles, below, is one of their's. It is thoroughly imagined in gorgeously grizzly detail and if you haven't seen it, I recommend it highly.
3 comments:
I haven't seen it - but now I most definitely will!
Sheila - I think you'll enjoy it, great over-the-top performances.
I also admit I'm a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic story.
I just finished The Road, for example. It's horrifying - have you read it? - but I'm just drawn to those kinds of stories. Stephen King's The Stand is another great example of it ... shivers ... Occasionally as I travel thru the Lincoln Tunnel I'll remember that HORRIFIC scene from the book and just shiver!!
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