Film Journal 7 – Delicatessen

The first film by collaborating filmmakers Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Delicatessen, takes place in France—time unspecified, however it seems to be either an economic depression or post-apocalyptic. Whichever the case may be, the economy is so bad that people have been reduced to cannibalism. The depression is certainly underlined by the atmosphere both in and outside the building. Outside everything is foggy and the buildings all seem to be decaying. While inside, the butcher and landlord, Clapet, has been killing his newest tenants and serving them to his regular leasers. All of the people in the building are aware of the goings on, and some even get short-tempered because of the amount of time it takes Clapet to “ice” Louison, the newest tenant.
Throughout the movie Louison proves himself to be a very talented musician, skillful worker, and a genuinely good natured individual. He becomes close with Julie Clapet—the butcher’s daughter—which allows him slightly more time; however, the film’s climax comes during a rooftop battle between Clapet and Louison during a screening of Louison’s clowning with his partner Dr. Livingstone.
This film exhibits some of the most quirky characters with incredibly interesting idiosyncrasies. The most notable side-character, Aurore, continuously attempts to commit suicide with very, almost Rube Goldberg-like methods. Her attempts further emphasize the idea that one cannot change fate. There are a few conversations involving ideas of fate, at least one of which ends with the phrase: “The winds are shifting.” The winds certainly do shift when Clapet kills himself (with the Australian) in an attempt to kill Louison. Following this Julie and Louison presumably take over the building and the last scene is the two of them on the roof and for the first time the sky is blue—the winds had certainly shifted. There could not be a better ending than these two shy, quirky individuals playing their music (Livingstone’s favorite song) on the roof, during a beautiful day.