September 3 - Jena-Pierre Jeunet

 

Happy 67th Birthday, Jean-Pierre Jeunet! Born today in 1953, this acclaimed French screenwriter, producer and film director's works are known to mix elements of fantasy, reality and science fiction either to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations. 

Born in Roanne, Loire, France, Jeunet, years later, bought his first camera at the age of seventeen and made short films while studying animation at Cinémation Studios. 

  

He later befriended French filmmaker and cartoonist Marc Caro, a designer and comic book artist who became his longtime collaborator and co-director. They had met at an animation festival in Annecy in the 1970s.  

  

Together, Jeunet and Caro directed award-winning animations. When not animating, Jeunet also directed numerous advertisements and music videos,  

  

Jeunet's films often resonate with the late twentieth century French film movement, Cinéma du look.  This analyzed, for the first time, by French film critic and journalist Raphaël Bassan in La Revue du Cinéma in May 1989. 

  

In the issue, Bassan classified French film director, screenwriter and producer Luc Besson ('The Last Battle'), French film director Jean-Jacques Beineix ('Diva') and French film director, critic and writer Leos Carax as directors of "le look". 

  

This movement alluded to themes and aesthetics involving German expressionism, French poetic realism, and the French New Wave. 

  

Jeunet and Caro's first directorial debut was in co-writing and co directing the first film of which he is best known. 

This was the 1991 French post-apocalyptic sci-fi/dark comedy fantasy crime film 'Delicatessen'. It was released in North America as "presented by Terry Gilliam." 

  

The film opens with Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), a cannibalistic butcher who owns a run-down apartment building in post-apocalyptic France.  

  

The building is in constant need of a handyman, because Clapet routinely chops then up them and sells them as food.  

  

The latest in the long ling of disposable workers is Louison (Dominique Pinon), a former circus clown desperate for work and lodging.  

  

But this time Clapet's plan hits a snag when his young daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) falls head over heels for the lovable Louison. Caro appears in the film as well, credited as Fox. 

  

The following year, 'Delicatessen' won four César Awards for Best First Feature Film, Best Writing, Besting Editing, and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 17th César Awards in late February 1992. 

  

In the early 2000s, Jeunet directed the second film of which he is best known. This was the 2001 French romance/comedy film 'Amélie'. 

The film is also known as 'Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain' ('The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain'). 

  

This fanciful comedy follows the titular young woman (Audrey Tautou) who discretely orchestrates the lives of the people around her, creating a world exclusively of her own making.  

  

Shot in over eighty Parisian locations, Jeunet invokes his incomparable visionary style to capture the exquisite charm and mystery of modern-day Paris through the wide eyes of a beautiful, innocent ingenue. 

  

Released stateside as simply 'Amelie', the film showed Jeunet more comfortable with his distinct visual style than ever, with the darkness that had enshrouded his previous films shifting toward a brighter, more optimistic outlook.  

A labor of love that he had been scripting even before taking the director's chair for 'Alien Resurrection', 'Amelie' told the simple story of a remarkable woman who finds that she has a unique gift for influencing the lives of others around her in almost magical ways.

Working his signature visual magic on Paris, Jeunet transforms the City of Lights into a deliriously beautiful, amber-tinged fantasy reality.  

  

This was complete with the graffiti digitally removed, complementing a fanciful quest that encompasses mysterious photo booth detritus, humorously gaslighting a cruel grocer, and a globe-trotting garden gnome.  

  

Topped off by winsome French actress Tautou, 'Amélie' broke box office records in France. On a budget of $10 million, the film had grossed $174.2 million. 

  

One year later, 'Amélie' won four César Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 27th César Awards in early March 2002. However, the film failed to capture any Oscars or Golden Globes. 

  

Two years later, Jeunet co-wrote, co-produced and directed the third and final film of which he is best known. 

This was the 2004 French/American 'Un long dimanche de fiançailles' ('A Long Sunday of Engagement', better known as 'A Very Long Engagement'). 

  

Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) is told that her fiancé Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) has been killed in World War I. 

She refuses to believe this, however, and begins trying to find out what actually happened on the battlefield the night he was supposedly killed, enlisting the help of a private investigator.  

  

During her search, she stumbles across evidence of the inhumane and morally bankrupt system used by the French to deal with deserters, and hears from other men who were sentenced to extreme punishment. 

  

The film also co-stares Dominique Pinon, Marion Cotillard, and Jodie Foster. 

It was based on French author, screenwriter and film director Sébastien Japrisot's titular 1991 romance war story fiction novel. 

  

The following year, 'A Very Long Engagement' won five César Awards. This was for Most Promising Actor (Gaspard Ulliel), Best Supporting Actress (Marion Cotillard), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 30th César Awards on February 26, 2005. 

  

One day, later the film was nominated for two Oscars. This was for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. However, the film didn't win either of these. This occurred at the 77th Academy Awards onFebruary 27, 2005. 

  

Jeunet has also directed numerous commercials, including a 2'25" film for Chanel N° 5 featuring his frequent collaborator Tautou.

Among his other credits, Jeunet is also know for directing 'The City of Lost Children' (1995), 'Alien: Resurrection' (1997), 'Micmacs' (2005), and 'The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet' (2013).  

  

Jeunet is a self-taught director who was very quickly interested by cinema, with a predilection for a fantastic cinema where form is as important as the subject.  

  

Jeunet has been active from 1978–present. 

  

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