fri 29/03/2024

theartsdesk Masterclass: Jean-Pierre Jeunet on Micmacs | reviews, news & interviews

theartsdesk Masterclass: Jean-Pierre Jeunet on Micmacs

theartsdesk Masterclass: Jean-Pierre Jeunet on Micmacs

The director of Amelie on holding Paris hostage and the wonder of the wide-angle lens

The devil in the detail: Jean-Pierre Jeunet with Dany Boon on the set of Micmacs

"I like directors whose style you recognise right away: Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Emir Kusturica, David Lynch," asserts Jean-Pierre Jeunet, a statement which should surprise none of his followers. Fabled for its attention to minutiae, his work is honed down to the last millimetre, from the immaculately choreographed sight gags to the hyperstylised sets. Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children (both co-directed with Marc Caro), Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, even Jeunet's Stygian contribution to the Alien franchise, are instantly, unmistakably recognisable as his. "If a certain detail isn't in the perfect place, a sequence doesn't work," he says.

"I like directors whose style you recognise right away: Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Emir Kusturica, David Lynch," asserts Jean-Pierre Jeunet, a statement which should surprise none of his followers. Fabled for its attention to minutiae, his work is honed down to the last millimetre, from the immaculately choreographed sight gags to the hyperstylised sets. Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children (both co-directed with Marc Caro), Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, even Jeunet's Stygian contribution to the Alien franchise, are instantly, unmistakably recognisable as his. "If a certain detail isn't in the perfect place, a sequence doesn't work," he says.

The wide-angle lens has personality, style, movement. I can't stand long focal-length lenses now; I'm deeply bored by them

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