Jonathan White’s review published on Letterboxd:
The filmmaking team of Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro is a marriage of Gilliam, Burton, and Lynch. Together they created two of my favourite films, Delicatessen and City Of Lost Children. While I like most of Jeunet’s later work, it doesn’t quite have the sensuous look and feel of these two films. If I were to draw a comparison, it would be like Burton and Lynch teamed up to make Brazil.
While Delicatessen is dark and very adult, you can’t help but feel that it’s a child’s nightmare, and the story is told from that perspective. The characters are broadly drawn, larger than life, and over the top. How the characters look and act play a more important role in what makes this film great than the story itself.
The faces of the characters are the stand-out for me. Jeunet’s long time collaborator Dominique Pinon has one of the most interesting faces on the planet. Because of this, his ‘facial’ work is much more subtle and nuanced than the other characters, simply because his face is so interesting to begin with. Pinon effortlessly makes us fall in love with him from practically the first frame. His Louison is the epitome of tenderness, integrity, and courage. Jean-Claude Dreyfus is my personal favourite though as Clapet the Butcher. His over the top facial contortions are the stuff of nightmares. All of other characters are equally evocative cartoonish caricatures. Even the brief appearance of Pascal Benezech, as ‘Tried To Escape’. His eyes peering out of the trash can in terror at the beginning of the film set the tone of what’s to come.
The look and sets of Delicatessen are the inanimate equals to the characters faces. This is where we see the influence of Marc Caro. The sets are rich and textured, often creepily so. The sets enhance the nightmarish quality and give you a feeling of claustrophobic unease. This is the first film where I really noticed colour timing. The garish high contrast and sepia tones enhances the surrealistic quality.
The star of the show, however, is the absurd comedy. I’m not a huge fan of pantomime, physical comedy, and especially of CLOWNS, but Jeunet’s combination of the above is pure magic. I think that the ‘syncopated bedsprings’ scene IS the funniest scene ever committed to film. BTW, I read that the original U.S. trailer for Delicatessen was this scene in its entirety. This is the exact reason I avoid trailers.
While dark and horrific, Delicatessen also manages to be sweet, tender, and innocent. Much like childhood. This contrast works because of Pinon and Mary-Laure Dougnac’s wonderful performances, but also because of their charming musical duets. Nothing melts your heart like the musical saw. This simple touch gives Delicatessen a soul.
What is the most amazing thing about Delicatessen is that it was made on such a tiny budget. It was reportedly made for under 5 million US ( 24 million franc ).
Delicatessen isn’t without faults. The third act kind of unravels. It’s over long, and the brilliant physical comedy devolves somewhat into slapstick. It also introduces unnecessary complication to what was already a perfectly tight film. On this re-watch I’ve reduced my rating to 4.5 because of this flaw, but I am still charmed.