A waste of 90 minutes of my life

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

people's lives get ruined by war and the means by which war is fought. you'd have to be pretty deeply into warmongering to disagree with this films message. i can be somewhat ambiguous about war, especially when people start making claims about the "good war" or "necessary conflict". but i thought the statement here was realistic and straight forward. even people who believe in a military can't say war doesn't ruin lives.even though that is a timely comment and one of serious conviction, this film also proves it's ripe for farce and social satire. this film is ingeniously funny and also charming and not just simply a heavy handed thought provoking experience.as a matter of fact the intended result seems to be more about fantasy and whimsy rather than burdening or depressing the viewer. it's almost impossible to keep a straight face or take anything too seriously here. too cute and there is a lot of simple innocence.outstanding contemporary cinema. but i wouldn't expect any less from the filmmaker who brought us the masterpiece 'City of the Lost Children'. maybe not on a par with that great film, but a delightful and fun fantasy/comedy and some of the best cinema around today.

This film succeeds on so many levels. Great cast, background, story, it doesn't blast you out with junk noise when they think you might not be following the story. And of course, excellent subtitles. The cast excel at a variety of faces and the editing and photography never fail. Would recommend this to anyone. Lots of little bits of business to giggle over and loads of snide comments about the armaments industry which should hit where it needs to. I'll be happy to add this to my titles on my DVD shelf. When I first caught this film it had already begun and I didn't know what I was getting into but it soon enabled me to catch on. Quite a bit of the action comes along without dialogue and there's no need for it. One to enjoy.

When video clerk Bazil ends up taking one in the brain-pan during a shootout (to which he was merely a witness), he ends up scavenging junk for a group of eccentric underground junkyard denizens. When Bazil decides to track down the arms dealer(s) whose handiwork resulted in his own injury (and his father's death, years before), MICMACS appears to be right on track- but this is no WAR, INC. MICMACS, unfortunately, begins to drift further and further into the type of way over the top fantasy that we've come to expect from Jeunet (DELICATESSEN, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN). Whatever political statement he might've made gets lost in the grandiose filmmaking. "I don't do politics," the arms dealer Marconi tells a client. Neither, apparently, does Jeunet (at least, not this time around) and it's an excellent opportunity he's squandered. There are some great lines throughout (the son of the arms dealer tells him he should work out when he mentions Rimbaud; the arms dealer tries to correct the misconception: "Rimbaud- not Rambo."). When Bazil turns to his junkyard pals 'n' gals for help (one of whom is "a twisted contortionist"), he must first explain the difference between "gaze and gays." Not a bad film, but one that only verges on being a truly great one.

I can really recommend this movie to all people who like fantastic story lines and ideas like you might know them from Terry Gillams movies. Micmacs has tons of very unusual ideas, surprising actions and quirky fantasies. It also features many strong, funny characters with different habits and styles. And it is a comedy about a very sad topic, which I think is the greatest art about this movie. Moreover it has some nice ideas about presentation, cutting and effects and it comes with a nice, slight score. If you like Terry Gilliams movies, you might also like this movie here. And by the way: It is in the typical style of this director.