Almost from the start, with the closeups of fat faces in very strange expressions, I sensed that I had seen the style elsewhere. Then I realized that this movie reminded me of Amelie. Sure enough, it is the same director although this was made about a decade earlier. Amelie is one of my favorite movies; not just for the story but also for the unique imagery. This movie shares that unique visual style but in a more grotesque fashion. Faces are shown in closeup that border on nightmarish. Colors and atmosphere meld to form a bleak, murky, misty and dreary filmscape. It is at once charming and horrifying. One of my favorite scenes is when Louison (Dominique Pinon) is blowing bubbles in the hallway. The two mischievous boys (or "young rascals" played by Boban Janevski and Mikael Todde) are immediately entranced and Louison is spared from any future harassment from them. Indeed, at one point they save his life with their mischief on others. Another of my favorite scenes is when Louison and Juliet (Marie-Loure Dougnat) are playing a duet, she on the cello, he on the saw(?!). Together with the music it was a magic moment. In fact, whenever Louison is shown clowning around, the music is soft and whimsical. Another wonderful moment is when Louison and the Butcher's lover (Karin Viard) are unintentionally playing a song from squeaky mattress springs. In another scene, she and Louison are dancing in his apartment. It looks well enough until you notice that Louison has 3 legs giving new meaning to having 2 left feet. These delightful moments are a stark contrast to the rest of the film. I guess I should expound on what the movie is about.
Louison is an out of work clown whose partner has been eaten. He tries to get a job as a handyman for a butcher (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) who is also a tenement owner. The butcher sizes him up and is not sure he will do. He thinks Louison is a bit too scrawny. However, Louison's luggage is all over the street so he gets the job just to clear the way. It would have been better had he not because in an earlier scene, you see someone hiding in a trash can and then getting butchered as the screen goes black. That someone was the last handyman. This movie is set in a post apocalyptic future where food is scarce and indeed, grain has become currency. The world has become divided between those that live underground and still use grain as food instead of currency and those that hoard grain and eat... well, anything else they can get their hands on except grain. I don't think I've ever seen a blacker comedy than this but if you enjoyed Amelie, I think you will also like this movie.
Louison is an out of work clown whose partner has been eaten. He tries to get a job as a handyman for a butcher (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) who is also a tenement owner. The butcher sizes him up and is not sure he will do. He thinks Louison is a bit too scrawny. However, Louison's luggage is all over the street so he gets the job just to clear the way. It would have been better had he not because in an earlier scene, you see someone hiding in a trash can and then getting butchered as the screen goes black. That someone was the last handyman. This movie is set in a post apocalyptic future where food is scarce and indeed, grain has become currency. The world has become divided between those that live underground and still use grain as food instead of currency and those that hoard grain and eat... well, anything else they can get their hands on except grain. I don't think I've ever seen a blacker comedy than this but if you enjoyed Amelie, I think you will also like this movie.