Micmacs

From Friday 5th to Thursday 11th March

1hr 44. France 2009. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Omar Sy. With English subtitles.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) latest unique creation is at once a playful comedy imbued with the romance of cinema and a satire on the arms trade. In his typically inventive world, some charming and unusual characters join forces to take on two weapons manufacturers. French superstar Dany Boon plays Bazil, who was orphaned as a boy when his father was killed by a bomb. As an adult, he is shot in a freak drive-by incident, which leaves a bullet lodged in his brain that could kill him at any moment. Emerging from hospital jobless and penniless, Bazil joins a group of amiable misfits living in a scrap yard and begins plotting his revenge. The gravity of the premise is contrasted to extraordinary effect by the aesthetic delights and humour found aplenty in this fun and fast-paced yarn.