Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.
Delicatessen is a visionary debut from Jeunet and Caro, brimming with singular visual invention. The cinematography is extraordinary — distorted lenses, sepia-drenched color palettes, and intricately choreographed comic sequences (the mattress scene) mark it as genuinely distinctive filmmaking. Novelty is extremely high: this post-apocalyptic dark comedy-fable has an unmistakable voice that belongs entirely to its creators. The plot is slight and somewhat episodic, functioning more as a framework for set-pieces than a tightly constructed narrative. The acting is committed and stylized in keeping with the heightened world, though characterization is secondary to atmosphere. The ending is satisfying but modest, resolving the love story with a whimsical vignette rather than a dramatic payoff.