Delicatessen

DELICATESSEN

Many of Jean Jeunet’s films, such as Amelie and The City of Lost Children, have a unique color scheme. This film, Delicatessen, is no exception. Almost every shot is mainly red or mainly green, with some shots having both. There are sepia overtones and the backgrounds are slightly desaturated. The color scheme in this is almost identical to The City of Lost Children, mainly because both films are set in a dystopian world, with a dark plot. The colors are darker and contrast is higher in relation to Amelie, but the overall red/green color scheme is immediately identifiable with Jean Jeunet.

Color (Example One) Red is used in the protagonist scenes. Color (Example Two) Green is used in the antagonist scenes. Immediately, I noticed similarities in the cinematography of The City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. In terms of similar shots, the pushing shots that were used to transition between settings were extremely similar, along with the many slight-worms-eye shots used to show character confusion in multiple characters. The combination of close ups of motions and objects with wider, expository shots is also similar in both movies. One specific thing I noticed is that there are many similar shots of the respective bad guys in all of Jeunet’s movies, in which the bad guy is placed in the center of the frame with a green background in a close up shot. There are also other specific aspects such as feet shots, POV shots, and birds eye shots used in similar circumstances.

Cinematography (Example One) Similar antagonist shots, green background, character centered

Cinematography (Example Two Semi-worm’s eye shots in multi-character confusion shots  Cinematography (Example Three)  Similar pushing shots, in both cases pushing shot inside cylindrical enclosure, from one setting to the next.  In Delicatessen, the lighting is similar to his other films in that most shots are moderately low key and dim. The majority of shots in Delicatessen are fairly balanced in regard to distribution of lighting and moderation of gamma. For the most part shots are slightly washed out due to the sepia overtones, with a balance between high dynamic range and high contrast.

Lighting (Example One) (Relatively) High key lighting used in good-guy shots. Lighting (Example Two) Much lower key lighting in bad-guy shots

Jean Jeunet uses the same actors over and over again in his films. However, he always assigns them similar roles not specifically in plot, but in execution of character personality. For example, Dominique Pinon appears in almost every single one of Jeunet’s films, and of course of a different character. However, he is always portrayed as the underdog in the beginning and then manages to become greater and end up saving the day. Jean Jeunet uses these same actors because he knows how they would execute a character profile.

Actors (Example One) Dominique Pinon is used again and gain for his unique, underdog quality.

The sound in Delicatessen is also similar to his other works, in that there is a minimalist sound design for the most part, yet during emotional climaxes appropriate music is infused to add drama.

Sound (Example One) Delicatessen is almost completely foley, with little no no background music, to establish suspense, which complements the surreal, dystopian plot.

Jean Jeunet enjoys using TV's as plot devices, usually to support a character profile and as a transition for dynamic characters.