Set in a post-apocalyptic France where jobs are scarce, food is scarcer, and currency is made of grain, Delicatessen, the first feature-length film from French directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is surprisingly buoyant and romantic, considering its dark subject matter, which also features murder and cannibalism.
Buy Delicatessen 4K UHDIn an isolated apartment complex at the edge of the city Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), the landlord, who is also a butcher, has devised a way to keep himself fed and make some extra money. He puts a job ad in the paper and when applicants arrive, he murders them, chops them up, and sells the meat to his tenants.
Louison (Dominique Pinon), an unemployed circus clown, answers the ad but proves himself quite useful as a handyman, causing Clapet to delay his murder and adding him to that week’s menu. With his magic tricks and whimsical ways, Louison delights many of the apartment’s tenants, including Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), Clapet’s daughter, with whom he forms a romance. Julie, disgusted at her father’s murderous ways, hires a group of underground, vegetarian rebels to rescue Louison before he is murdered.
Caro and Jeunet blend all of this horror with their unique brand of dark whimsy and quirk. The apartment complex is filled with oddball characters including two men who meticulously build little wooden toys that emit farmyard animal sounds and a woman who regularly tries to commit suicide with Rube Goldberg-esque traps. An elderly man lives in a dank room filled with snails and frogs. When Louison learns that Julie plays the cello, he duets with her on his musical saw. When a different couple has sex on a squeaky bed, they intercut the other residents rhythmically doing chores all in time with the squeaks. Jeanet would perfect this brand of the slightly fantastical, quirky blend of romance and humor (minus the horror) in his international hit Amelie.
Delicatessen is a little rough around the edges. It doesn’t quite know what to do with the vegetarian rebels for example, and it could have used another 10 or 15 minutes to flesh out some of the characters, but mostly, it is a delight. Its unique visuals, unusual comedy, and sweet romance far outweigh the lack of a better narrative.
Severin Films presents Delicatessen with a beautiful 4K UHD transfer. It is a dark film with many scenes shot in underground tunnels or under-lit rooms. Even exteriors exist in clouded darkness. A notice on the disc indicates that Jeunet supervised the transfer but also indicates that cinematographer Darius Khondji’s unique photochemical treatment of the original negative was impossible to perfectly duplicate but they attempted to do so using digital techniques. The results look good to me.
Extras on this two-disc release include:
4K UHD Disc
- Audio Commentary with Co-Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Trailer (HD; 2:17)
Blu-ray Disc
- Audio Commentary with Co-Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Interview with Co-Directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro
- Fine Cooked Meats: The Making of Delicatessen – previously released
- Copains Comme Cochons (Pigs’ Ties) – Interview with Co-Director Marc Caro
- The Tale of Terry Gilliam Presents Delicatessen
- Trailer
I much prefer Jeunet’s later work but Delicatessen is an amazing first film demonstrating the director’s unique blend of arresting visuals, unique sense of humor, and romantic point of view. Highly recommended.
