Delicatessen (1991)

In the past few days I've been watching and analysing parts of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Delicatessen (1991). The film is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, which the cause isn't clearly described. Food and supplies are scarce, with the currency being anything from shoes to lentils. The story shows a landlord of a block of flats, who has turned to using his newly hired employees as meat to feed the local families. As the butchers daughter becomes more attached to the latest employee, she seeks help to save him from her father and odd tenants. While many were perhaps put off by the film being in french, therefore subtitled, or perhaps the black comedic side to it, I found the film a great combination of quirky sketches such as the "squeaky spring" scene and the horrific themes of eating the employees and killing off tenants of the building. While the story line is relatively simple, I enjoyed the emphasis on all characters having strong personalities and their own personal traits. One thing that was clear about the film, from the very beginning was the theme/colour scheme of a murky, yellow/orange, which even the fog was coloured in, carrying throughout the film. In a media talk, someone mentioned this is similarly sometimes present in JPJ's more popular film Amelie, but with the scheme of green. From this I can take the horror conventions, such as the murder of characters and I personally would like to enforce a similar idea like a running colour scheme in my trailer. Elements such as the comedy side won't be as present, but to conclude, I feel it was a useful resource in helping me with my own project.