Delicatessen (1991)

In post-apocalyptic France, Clapet is a butcher who owns a decrepit apartment building in which he rents out rooms to a number of people; including a suicidal women who lives with her despairing husband, a man who lives in a water filled room amongst thousands of snails, and his own daughter Julie.

Clapet posts job opportunities in newspapers with the aim of luring unsuspecting workers to his apartment so he can murder them and sell their body parts as meat to his tenants, with food being scarce and grain used as currency.

His latest planned victim is Louison, an unemployed circus clown who proves to be an excellent handyman, so much so that Clapet is reluctant to kill him. Things become more complicated when Louison falls in love with Julie, who is aware of her Father’s appalling deeds.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s debut is arguably his finest work; the film that he’s best known for (Amelie [2001]) might be inventive but doesn’t hit the heights that Delicatessen manages. There’s strong shades of Terry Gilliam’s work, most notably Brazil (1985) as well as hints of what was to come from Wes Anderson.

It’s far from perfect but the ludicrousness and originality work well with the films’ setting and characters, and marked Jeunet out as a director to keep a close eye on. 7.0/10