Micmacs

MicMacs 1. Most of Jean Jeunet’s films employ a unique color palette consisting of mainly red and green hues with a hint of sepia. Micmacs certainly is no exception, for from the opening shot we can tell that it is a Jeunet film due to the inherent color scheme. Jeunet also likes to open his films with a expository crane shot that begins on a wide shot of setting cumulating to a close up of a character, setting up the plot. This also holds true to Micmacs, for the first shot is indeed a wide shot of a desert background which carries over to a close up of a character’s hand. Micmacs utilizes many stylistic elements which appear in Jeunet’s other films (as shown below). Theme-wise, Micmacs doesn’t have as defined a “what the character wants vs. needs” as many of his other films do. For Amelie, obviously it’s her desire to help others vs. helping herself. For delicatessen, it is the want to eat human beings but the need to remain human. Micmacs differs slightly from Jeunet’s other films in that it is sort of a heist-type film in which the first half of the film is expository, introducing the character and setting the scene, and the second half is focused on the series of events which leads up to the climatic end. Although this, plot-wise, is slightly different from Jeunet’s other films, it shares the same thematic and stylistic elements as his other films, which are described below.

2. Obviously, the red and green color palette is unique to Jean Jeunet’s films, as he uses it in all of his films. This definitely helped in defining his image. However, there are also many other stylistic and thematic elements that are unique to Jean Jeunet. One particular shot that, after seeing it repeated in many of his films, could be considered one of his iconic shots are the (albeit CGI) camera pushes through impossibly small or just inaccessible crevices that switch from one setting to another. Another cinematic element that although not unique to Jeunet alone, is the use of feet shots in uncalled for circumstances to give a sense of ambiguity and connection. Jeunet’s use of ripple effect editing is also present in many of his films, in similar circumstances pertaining to dreams and alternate reality. Non-diegetic imagination in the character’s minds can also be considered unique to Jeunet’s style, although it only appears in Micmacs. The other elements, such as the CGI pushing shots and the red/green color palette are present in all of Jeunet’s films. Also noteworthy is Jeunet’s incorporation of sex or nuances pertaining to sex in all of his films. It is through these thematic and stylistic motifs and more that Jeunet’s style is defined.

Side note: I was surprised the scene in Micmacs which happens in Delicatessen, in which Dominique Pinon’s character plays a song on his musical saw with the girl who plays the cello. It’s even the same song! Just something to note.

Fixed:


 * 1) Pushing shots through impossibly small places to add to the sense of surrealism an disbelief. This shot is used over and over again in Jeunet’s darker films such as Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, and Micmacs.
 * 2) Plot structure: Many of Jeunet’s films open with the protagonist suffering something horrible that begins their “hero’s journey.” For example, in the beginning of Micmacs, Bazil is shot in the head. In The City of Lost Children, One’s little brother is kidnapped.
 * 3) Lighting: Extremely harsh low-key lighting to show contrast between characters.
 * 4) Color: A red/green with sepia overlay color scheme is used in every one of Jeunet’s films. This works well to complement the surreal nature of his films, adding an unfamiliarity of the world that works in favor of the story.
 * 5) For almost all the antagonist shots in all his movies, Jeunet uses the same shot over and over again. This entails a canted close up of the antagonist, a green background, and extremely low-key green lighting.
 * 6) Plot: Closure: Jeunet always maintains closure at the end of his films, usually with the protagonist getting what he wants as well as what he needs.