Delicatessen (1991)
Updated: Feb 24, 2021
Trigger warning for this movie and this review: mention of a fictional attempted suicide.
Have you ever wished there was a comedy about cannibalism, waiting to be enjoyed? Don't be shy, I know we all have. Delicatessen (1991) is a that is that film. The French film takes place in the future, in a post-apocalyptic France (although there's a certain timelessness about it), focusing on a single apartment building owned by a butcher named Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus). It is full of interesting tenants, all of whom share one, dark secret. And it’s the reason they keep needing to hire new handymen.
If you haven't seen a brilliant comedy about cannibalism in your life, are you truly living?
The characters make this movie. Here are a few of the tenants. There's
There's Clapet’s daughter, Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), who has many memorable qualities and habits, one of which is that she always buys two of everything in case she breaks it. Here she is playing her cello on the roof while the handman, Louison (Dominique Pinon), plays his saw. Did I mention he was in the circus?
And Aurore Interligator (Silvie Laguna), the woman who keeps trying to kill herself. Her elaborate and complicated plans keep failing at the last minute. Everyone around her is doing everything they can to stay alive, making her the only person who wants to die. (I know that may sound bad and not-at-all funny, but neither did cannibalism and here we are.)
There's the grandmother (Edith Ker) who is always knitting. Since her family can’t afford to buy her new yarn, they made a spool that pulls the scarf apart as she is making it, creating a neverending cycle. It isn't clear whether or not she notices.
And I couldn’t forget Dominique Benttenfeid, Jean-Luc Caron, Bernard Flavein, David Defever, Raymond Forestier, and Robert Baud as Les Troglodistes (roughly “the sewer rats”)! I'm not giving any more context than that.
This film has romance, it has action and suspense, and it will surely make you laugh out loud. I found the cinematography and audio incredibly clever. You can find English subtitles, but even without understanding the dialogue, you can enjoy the film. The story comes alive no matter what. I highly recommend this movie. I wouldn’t consider it true horror, but still suggest not watching it right before bed or while you eat. It is rated R. Screenplay by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, and Gilles Adrien Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) and Marc Caro (The City of Lost Children)