Light-hearted fun, but not much else. 2.5 out of 4
“Micmacs” is a French word similar to “knick-knacks”, as in “a little of this, a little of that.” In many ways, this describes Jean Pierre Jeunet’s latest film pretty well, as its made up of charming little ideas, yet doesn’t add up to anything all-too substantial.
Un Prophete, France/s entry to the Academy’s Best Foreign Film category, has been compared to The Godfather, a comparison that many will think presumptuous, undeserved or euro-centric. Though the film’s protagonist is no Michael Corleone, the rise of the film’s titular character is just as majestic and engaging as his Seventies, American counterpart.
Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is a nineteen-year-old Beur (formal term for an Arab immigrant in France) living on the streets of France when he is arrested and given a six-year sentence. He has no family, no friends in or outside of prison and is illiterate. Needless to say, he has all the odds stacked against him.
Where does evil come from? A complex question with a number of debatable answers, no doubt, but in Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, the answer is simple: home sweet home.