SXSW 2010 Review: Micmacs a tire-larigot

Film, SXSW 2010 Add comments

Mar 152010

I’ll admit from the start that for whatever reason, even though I thoroughly enjoyed this film, festival fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks while watching Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs. Maybe it was having to read subtitles or maybe I’m just getting old. Regardless, I’m having a very difficult time recalling a lot of the material. I can say with no hesitation that it was really fun and that if you enjoy any of Jean Pierre’s other work, you’ll be pleased as punch with this flick. It’s funny, tragic, and makes well paced movies look like they’re standing still.

The story is pretty much a revenge movie. It begins with the father of the protagonist attempting to disarm a land mine. Unfortunately, this ends poorly for him and as a result he dies. As a child, our hero is shown photos of the mine that ended his father’s life. He recognizes the manufacturer’s logo and files away a mentle note. Years later, he finds himself working as an adult in a video store. He then sees a a car chasing a motorcycle through the streets, which crescendos into a shoot out. His curiosity gets the better of him when a stray bullet strikes him in the head. He doesn’t die, but the bullet is lodged in his head forever.

From there, our hero becomes destitute and shacks up with a “family” of folks that are down on there luck. While doing some work with them, he stumbles upon the office for the manufacturer of the land mine. Which just happens to be across the street from the office of the manufacturer of the bullet that’s stuck in his head. And with that, he starts a revenge plot to turn them against each other.

It’s rather simple, but the flair that Jeunet brings to the picture is astounding. Every character, shot, set, and device used throughout the film is very unique to not only this movie but most movies in general. There are some call backs to, of all things, Warner Bros. cartoons. This includes the old fashioned Warner Bros. theme music played over the opening credits. What was really surprising was the amount of American Cinema references there were even though this is a French film. Someone asked Jeunet during the post-screening Q/A whether his films were at all indicative of the way he sees France. Jeunet responded that yes, but mostly how he sees Montmarte.

So yes, even though I don’t remember a lot of it, I really enjoyed this film. The wife liked it as well and even labeled it a “must buy.” Which for anyone that’s married, and is in constant negotiations to purchase movies, fully understands the significance of that demand. There is currently no release date set for this film but I’m sure it will be coming to an art house near you in the next few months.