Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie is a landmark of cinematic ingenuity. Similar inspiration and wonder is echoed in his inventive, playful, and wildly entertaining Micmacs. Meet Bazil (Dany Boon). He was raised in an orphanage from a young age, his father having been killed by a land mine as a soldier and his mom deemed insane. Flash forward years later, a grown-up Bazil is working at a video store when a stray bullet from a random drive-by shooting lodges into his brain. Unable to remove the stubborn slug, the doctors release him into the world to encounter an unexpected fate.

Homeless and hopeless, he is taken in by a group of merry misfits (the mic macs), among them an ex-con, a contortionist, a mathematician, and a human cannonball. The jolly motley crew lives in a junkyard, recycling materials and building ingenious knick-knacks to support themselves. But when Bazil discovers that his bullet and the bomb that killed his father are made by two feuding weapons companies, he hatches a brilliant plan to take them down. Quirky, energetic, and layered with timely themes, Jeunet's Micmacs is a feast for the eyes and fun for the whole family.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Pierre Jeunet