Delicatessen

Delicatessen, a French film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet depicts life in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future (how appropriate!). The people are starving and there is very little food. Despite this gruesome future, the movie is surprisingly light and funny. The characters are bumbling and goofy. Even one tenant who attempts suicide multiple times is halted by hilarious turns of events. The people who live in the aboveground Deli eat people to survive but life in the deli is relatively formal and pleasant. Despite all of the nastiness of the outside world, the daughter of the butcher, Julie, falls in love with the new tenant, Louison, who is to be eaten. Because he is such a nice guy, she falls in love with him and tries to save him. The meaning behind this story is one of hope. Love wins out in the end and the dusty sky begins to clear up in the final scene. All of the cannibals are sent away or killed and it appears as if hope triumphs in the end. The movie as a whole contrasts itself because everything is so dark but one leaves the screening with a feeling of hope and happiness.