Taken as an antidote for my current fetish with anything Ken Loach Micmacs (2009) worked a treat, although some of the RBC Film Club were not quite as impressed as I was. This satire on the world’s arms trade involves Bazil (Dany Boon) who, following his father death while defusing a land mine and getting a bullet lodged in his brain from a shoot out that took place outside the video store where he worked, teams up with a community of misfits who live inside a rubbish tip!. Taking advantage of the various skills these oddballs offer, Bazil sets out to wreck havoc on two rival weapons manufactures he blames for his miss-fortunes. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet who was also responsible for Amelie (2001) and A Very Long Engagement (2004) Micmacs turned out to be a real treat, refreshingly inventive, exciting and very cleverly done. The world of Bazil and his new ‘family’ draws you in and you actually care what happens to these likable nutcases. With a serving of Keaton, Chaplin and Tati, mixed with a squirt of Ealing comedy, a spoonful or two of Lynch and Burton and a large dollop of Terry Gilliam this film is not to be missed especially by lovers of real comedy. See also Les Visiteurs (1993)
