I am a huge Jeunet fan and have seen all his films at least once. I have to say, though this was amazing, my favorite of the two is Delicatessen.
How about you?
I prefer Delicatessen (9/10) too but City of Lost Children (8.5/10 is still very good. It was actually the first Jeunet movie I saw.
Now I've seen those two, A Very Long Engagement (7.5/10) and Amelie (9/10).
All were very good movies. I love the colour saturation methods he uses.
I like each of them for different reasons. If choosing between the two I would say COLC primarily for its surreal and gorgeous visuals, the Siamese twin villians and the scene with the teardrop that starts off a chain reaction.
Of Jeunet/Caro's oeuvre I would have to say Amelie. Delicatessen was the testing ground for their style. COLC they go wild with the style they developed with Delicatessen and Amelie they refine and fine tune their style wrapped around an engaging love story.
I liked a Very Long Engagement but I think the over abundance of violence, although necessary for the story, detracted from their style.
Yes, that was my feeling too (about A Very Long Engagement).
shareOf the two, Delicatessen is a better film I think. But, Caro had nothing to do with Amelie, him and Jeunet parted ways after City of Lost Children, I'm pretty sure...
"Death, you are my bitch lover!"
I vote Delicatessen, just because the humor was more on the surface there. But they were both a feast for the eyeballs!
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I only recently watched 'La cité des enfants perdus' and it is very dark, but
I prefer 'Delicatessen' for its humour.
However both movies are great examples of Jeunet's art.
"Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." - Laozi
The Shadow Warrior
I luv em both, but my fave is COLC. Maybe it's because I saw it first. But I also think the music is a lot more intense, and visually I like greens (COLC) instead of reds (Deli). And whereas the plot & humour of Deli may be sharper, I really like the poetry & sadness of COLC (and Judith Vittet--wow).
Here's how I rank the Jeunet films:
COLC = 10/10
Deli = 9.5/10
Amelie = 9/10
Engagement = 8/10
Alien Rez = 6/10
Bunker = wtf did I just watch??/10
COLC is a bit allover the place as the fantasy here runs perhaps a little too wild - occasionally coming across as showing off more than anything else. Delicatessen, in comparison, is sharper and more focused. Pretty great stuff both though. And visually Enfants Perdus is, of course, simply stunning.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
I was not aware that Amelie had the same director! Amelie was decent for me; I just couldn't get into it. It was cute, quirky, but didn't stand out for me.
But both City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. Just pure magic! :)
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COLC wins for me. I admired what they were trying to do in Delicatessen, but there are some things that I personally cannot get beyond. One, I don't like clowns. When I found out that Pinon was actually a former clown, I lost a little sympathy for him. And frankly the tennants may have been the nicest people on the planet, but they were still cannibals, and I mentally reject that lifestyle. I would rather go vegan before subjecting myself to eating another human being.
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