DELICATESSEN DVD REVIEW

And it all started with this lilting fairy tale about post apocalyptic romance and cannibalism. Ah sweet-meat mystery of love at last I’ve found you. It is, as I’ve said, a time of post-Apocalypse. In a land where meat is scarce genius handyman and former clown Louison finds work under the sinister eye of landlord and butcher Clapet. We know that Clapet, in collusion with the other tenants (at least some of them) is in the habit of packaging and selling new lodgers. He already has eyes on the diminutive janitor but when Clapet’s estranged daughter falls in love with the janitor his days and his parts are truly numbered.

To call this film a comedy borders on misrepresentation missing as it does the immense sense of threat hanging over our young lovers. Jeunet and co-director Caro fill the screen with some awfully macabre stuff. There’s the constant specter of cannibalism- never seen but wafting off the screen like spoiled meat, the tenant whose suicide attempts are only as laughable as they are disturbing, the opening sequence involving a character named Tried To Escape and of course the bug eyed Clapet played by Jean-Claude Dreyfus who is simply one of the most repulsive screen villains ever.

But to really understand the creative comedy genius that drives Delicatessen you need only really see one scene featuring an incredible symphony of sounds taking place simultaneously throughout the dilapidated structure of the apartment complex. The walls are thin indeed!

And the score is marvelous. The effects are marvelous. The affect of is one of a wonder that embraces the adult world without being spoiled by sin. Louison is one of the great innocents of the big screen. Need I go on? The release of Delicatessen on Region One DVD is a marvelous thing indeed. But lest I lead you astray allow me to comment on the Special Features. They how you Americans say…what is ze phrase…ah yes….CACA! You get the seriously lame Fine Cooked Meats: A Nod to Delicatessan and a featurette titled The Archives of Jean Pierre Jeunet. Both are rambling behind the scenes clips that while subtitled are of no particular interest. No narration, no historical context no interviews. As I said- CACA! Better is the audio commentary featuring Jeunet.