Delicatessen (1991)

The film is a delightfully original picture poised perfectly between farce and horror, with sinister undertones of much recent French cinema.

The near-future story of an ex-clown who takes a job above a butcher's shop and falls for the butcher's daughter is layered with inventive comic detail and grotesque characters. Visually evocative of Gilliam, Lynch and others, the film's sets, effects, pace and performances deliver brash, nightmarish humour that entertains from start to finish.

The zany little film is a startling and clever debut, beautifully textured, cleverly scripted and eerily shot, with a rich array of eccentrics and an outrageous montage of rhythmically edited visuals in a darkly bizarre futuristic world.

The film is a nightmare comedy with a childlike center, mixing horrific images and macabre jolts with playful, weird unpredictability in a post-apocalyptic world of cannibalism. It is seen as an original with satisfying density, a true cult movie that outshocks American horror comedies.

The critic finds the film clever but not radically new, noting its debts to Brazil and its whimsical elements that sometimes go too far, while praising its graceful slapstick humor and inventive blend of black comedy with sight gags.

The critic finds the film unfunny and unappetizing, criticizing its lack of compassion for characters, preening preciousness, and repetitive cartoonish oppression that echoes Brazil without meaning. It faults the aggressive stylization for reducing characters to quirky props in a cat-and-mouse game.

The critic views Delicatessen as a stylistically sloppy early effort by Jeunet and Caro that shows the roots of their later talent despite narrative flightiness and muddy execution. It praises the inventiveness in setpieces and energetic surrealism while noting it eventually descends into grotesquerie.

The critic describes it as superbly conceived and brilliantly executed, surpassing expectations with surreal humour that remains innocent while revelling in bizarre nightmare, highlighting its originality and simplicity.

The critic calls it a surrealistic masterpiece and a beautiful nightmare, praising its twisted logic, cinematography, and iconic scenes in a post-apocalyptic setting.

The critic calls Delicatessen a post-apocalyptic gem that blends eerie absurdity with grotesque comedy in a cannibalistic society. They single out the quirky, eccentric tenants and the playful slapstick humor that normalizes the violence.