Delicatessen (1991)

Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.

Directors:

Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet (screenplay), Marc Caro (screenplay)

Stars:

Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Pascal Benezech

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pascal Benezech	...	Tried to Escape
Dominique Pinon	...	Louison
Marie-Laure Dougnac	...	Julie Clapet
Jean-Claude Dreyfus	...	Clapet
Karin Viard	...	Mademoiselle Plusse
Ticky Holgado	...	Marcel Tapioca
Anne-Marie Pisani	...	Madame Tapioca
Boban Janevski	...	Young Rascal
Mikael Todde	...	Young Rascal (as Mikaël Todde)
Edith Ker	...	Grandmother
Rufus	...	Robert Kube
Jacques Mathou	...	Roger
Howard Vernon	...	Frog Man
Chick Ortega	...	Postman
Silvie Laguna	...	Aurore Interligator

Storyline

Centered on a post-apocalyptic society where food is scarce and used as currency. In an apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor. The owner of the eatery also owns the apartment building and is in need of a new maintenance man since the prior one "mysteriously" disappeared. A former clown applies for the job and the butcher's intent is to have him work for as little as possible. The clown and butcher's daughter fall in love and she tries to foil her father's plans by contacting the "troglodytes", a grain eating sub-group of society who live entirely underground.

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Plot Keywords:

surrealist | black comedy | human meat | absurd comedy | bed | 

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Taglines:

A futuristic comic feast

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Delicatessen was the first full film made by Caro and Jeunet, but it was actually planned after La cité des enfants perdus (1995) was refused, because "The City" was too expensive for the, at the time, unknown directors to assume. For that reason, Delicatessen's budget was cut VERY tight, with a very restricted set, many friends and family of both directors appearing in the cast, and most props being actually old scavenged stuff - again, to cut costs.

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Goofs

Every time Julie plays the cello, the audio is behind what she plays. This is most visible in the first playing session when she is practising by playing C major up and down; the lag is several notes.

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Quotes

Clapet: You think this is a safari, bitch?

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, crew members' names appear on objects that the camera tracks across: the director of photography's name appears on a camera, the composer's name on a broken 12" record, etc.

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Connections

Referenced in Micmacs à tire-larigot (2009)

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Soundtracks

Dreams of Old Hawaii
Written by Joe White, Lani McIntyre and Larry Stock
Performed by Lani McIntyre and Lani McIntyre's Orchestra

User Reviews

Inventive, stylish and darkly amusing

This is a superb film. The look and design of the sets is unique and the narrative is certainly original!! I would place this film along with others like Being John Malkovich as it really did make me sit up and take notice. There are some truly great set pieces in the film particularly when the whole house starts to get into the same rhythm as the love makers on the top floor ( ripped off by an American Beer company I note in an advert ) and the botched suicide attempt too - hey I said it is darkly amusing!! I would say that there is not a weak performance amongst the cast in this evocative tale of futuristic cannibalism!! Basically, trying to describe this film makes it sound too bizarre but I highly recommend it to anyone who likes originality and their humour on the edge of darkness.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 April 1991 (France)

Also Known As:

Delikatesy

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,733, 5 April 1992

Gross USA:

$1,794,187

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,794,187

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constellation, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC), Hachette Première

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1