classicsoncall I don't know if this is the kind of movie anyone ends up liking, but it can't be said that it isn't interesting. Taking place in a dystopian, almost apocalyptic world, "Delicatessen" takes one on a surrealistic and nightmarish voyage populated by freaks tending toward normalcy, but one has to look hard to find it. The woman with voices in her head was strange enough, but the guy who lived in a swamp for an apartment, populated by frogs and snails, had me wondering just what kind of boarding house Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) was running. Of course we get that answer in due course. The only likeable character in the film for me was Clapet's daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), though I did have to question her judgment in men when she fell for the advances of newest boarder Louison (Dominique Pinon). Then again, the chances of meeting anyone more appealing was probably out of the question with this entire band of merry misfits. With "Delicatessen", you don't quite get the gory spectacle of Sweeney Todd, or the understated menace of 1960's "The Little Shop of Horrors", but what you have is a distorted look into the frenzied imagination of directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet who blend an eclectic cast of characters into a nightmare world where anything can happen. My favorite piece was the choreographed Hawaiian bed spring scene, which doesn't seem to make any sense when I describe it, but stands out as one of the more 'normal' sequences in the entire story.

Paul Magne Haakonsen It is rare that I find a movie just too weird, but it seemed that my streak has been bested by "Delicatessen". It was just weird on a level where it stopped being fun and entertaining. And this 1991 movie was just really far out there.What peeked my interest about this movie was the synopsis on the back of the DVD cover. Yeah, it did come off as interesting. And I don't mind a movie being in a non-English language. But watching this movie, it quickly became clear that this was not in my range of preference.Set in an apocalyptic time, "Delicatessen" is filmed and constantly lit by a dark orange-like hue, which was a bit odd, but worked out well enough, I suppose.Now, what "Delicatessen" had working in its favor was the performances put on by the cast, and they made it bearable to sit through the train wreck of a storyline."Delicatessen" is somewhat of an acquired taste, which wasn't for me. This was a wide swing and a miss by directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.

SnoopyStyle In the post-apocalyptic France, food is scarce. Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) is the landlord of an apartment building and the downstairs delicatessen butcher. Circus clown Louison (Dominique Pinon) gets the job of butcher's assistant and falls in love with the butcher's daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac). Clapet intends to cut up the new worker for food and Julie contacts vegetarian underground rebel Troglodistes.I like the weird French idea of the apocalypse. Of course, it's about food and cuisine. The yellowy tint is a little off-putting. The style is Gilliam-esque which I love. All the characters are weird. The Troglodistes are even weirder. I like the love story but the movie dwells too much on the weirdness.

Wasif Amin Pushing aside a presumption of a bland cannibal movie, Delicatessen provided an interesting view with its dark cinematography with slight yet effective humor and unpredictable twists. The ingenious and entertaining integration of different noises to create music as well as the creation of rhythmic movements with sounds coming from the television are only two of the many creative ideas touched upon throughout the movie. The usual clichés of post apocalyptic dystopia has been effectively confined into a minimum while using the clichés to an advantage in producing cringing revelations throughout the movie. The movie's best feature would be its various side stories which look into the lives of the various different tenants of the butcher's building. The employment of humor in tragedy has been another highlight of the movie. However, the story suffers from a lack of elaboration in some parts of it. The movie itself was a little slow at times. Despite the slight drawbacks, the movie is definitely worth a watch due to its original concepts attractive to any movie enthusiast.