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Delicatessen (1991) poster

Delicatessen

dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet · 1991

Feature
Post-Apocalyptic
Mood
Whimsical / Dark
Look
richly detailed, surrealistic set design with a steampunk flair
Structure
episodic with intertwining character arcs
Plot

Centered on a post-apocalyptic society where food is scarce and used as currency. In an apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor. The owner of the eatery also owns the apartment building and is in need of a new maintenance man since the prior one "mysteriously" disappeared. A former clown applies for the job and the butcher's intent is to have him work for as little as possible. The clown and butcher's daughter fall in love and she tries to foil her father's plans by contacting the "troglodytes", a grain eating sub-group of society who live entirely underground.

Why watch

"Delicatessen" serves up a feast of dark humor and whimsical absurdity in a post-apocalyptic world where love and survival are intricately intertwined. With its rich visual style and quirky characters, this film invites viewers to savor the bittersweet flavors of life amidst scarcity.

Cultural context
French cinema's embrace of absurdismpost-Cold War anxietiescritiques of capitalismthe rise of dystopian narratives in the 1990s

Where this shelves

every shelf · back to the store