Micmacs Review
By David Kempler
Mishmash
Bazil (Dany Boon) has one of those faces that makes you want to hug him. He's not particularly handsome or ugly. He's cute, in an odd sort of way. When "Micmacs" begins, we see him working in a video store. He hears a commotion outside and naturally goes to investigate.
What follows is the propelling moment of "Micmacs". Turns out that the racket is a crime in progress. Unfortunately for Bazil, he becomes the proverbial innocent bystander, when a gun misfires and puts a bullet squarely into his forehead. Miraculously, he recovers, but doctors leave the bullet in, because to remove it is deemed far too dangerous. Bazil wants revenge on the manufacturer of the bullet and "Micmacs" is the tale of his quest to get his revenge, in comedic form. At different times, it reminded me of "Delicatessen", "Brazil", and a Tim Burton film, but it never quite lives up to any of these.
After he is released from the hospital, his job is no longer available and he is flat-broke. He has nowhere to turn. Poor Bazil. Fear not, because his existence is salvaged when he joins a bunch of odd characters that share living quarters in a scrap dump. They are all misfits and he fits in beautifully. The quest to seek revenge on the arms dealers becomes the group's quest, with all of them using their somewhat unique abilities to help our hero. Their plan is elaborate and often is the equivalent of a live Rube Goldberg contraption.
Director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, has crafted a very artsy and quirky piece that is long on looks and action and short on plot. It's intended as a satire on arms dealers in general, and two in particular, but as much as it wants us to love it, I could only muster up liking it sometimes. It may work as a kiddie flick, at least in France, but "Micmacs" is mostly a mishmash.
