the art house darling of French cinema

Mr. Keith Trice (Luc)

Jeunet was born on September, 3rd 1953 in Roanne, FranceNot much at all is known about Jeunets personal life; he is very privateWorked for a telephone company like his fatherBought a Super 8 camera at the age of 17 to experiment with

Jeunet realized this camera was all he needed to make moviesWhen I was a kid, I used to escape from my family with my imagination, and I kept this spirit into my adult lifeImagination inspired his dark, light-hearted, and romantic visions

In the early 20th century, 8mm film was the solution to cutting both size and cost of equipmentGeorge Eastman Kodak company introduced this new film in 193225 spool of 16mm with two sides; after each side of 8mm film was exposed, the two films were split and spliced together at the endsThis made it cheaper to experiment with filmIn the 1960s, Super 8mm film was introduced: bigger surface area to record more

Super 8

In his early 20s, Jeunet moved to Paris as a handyman for a phone companyAttended university at Cinmation StudiosBegan making short films with Marc CaroThe two make several war-torn dystopian shorts The Bunker of the Last Shot (1981) establishing their names in the film industryJeunet is known for his directing and casting; Marc Caro is known for his artistic direction eventually they separated

The Bunker of the Last Gunshot (1981)

Jeunet and Caro worked separately for ten years before their next collaborationThey made music videos and commercials in the meantime to finance their next filmJeunet realizes later in his career that all you need in France is one major success to live off of in cinema

A major debut from Jeunet and Caro, Delicatessen is a hybrid mix of romance, comedy, and horror set in a post-apocalyptic surrealist city. TRAILER

Awards

Delicatessen awarded Jeunet and Caro with four cesarsCesars included best new director(s) They later went on to direct City of Lost Children in 1995In both films, Jeunet and Caro split responsibilities: Jeunet handled the directorship, storyboard, and actors, while Caro worked on the artistic direction

After City of Lost Children, Jeunet and Caro pursue other endeavorsJeunet is called to Hollywood to direct Alien: Resurrection in 1997The fourth installment in the Alien series is a flop because of poor writing (from Joss Whedon) and a mediocre castJeunet returns to France keeping his thoughts on a special project, and the hopes that it will be his one success

Amlie was written as a very special project for Jean-PierreThe film is released to critical success in 2001In interviews, he points out that the main character, Amlie, is a representation of his childhood selfSet in Montmarte, Jeunetcreates a beautiful vision of the city of ParisAmlie is Jeunets great success, setting him up for life

The streets of Montmartre are colored in a beautiful, sepia-style warm filter (vivid reds and green, non-existent blue colors)Graffiti on the streets were removed in post to make it as visually clean as possibleShot in very wide angles (14, 18, 21, 25, & 27mm lenses) to capture as many details as possible; also to correct his actors facial featuresJeunets focus is to show you his interpretation of reality one filled with warmth and imagination

Colors are edited in post (this is called color-grading)A technicolor filter was added to make red and green tones prominent, while de-saturating all blue tonesA warm filter was applied to mask the film in an orange tintThe combined results are a very warm image (possibly between 6500-7000 degrees in kelvin)This same color-grading process may have been used in Jeunets earlier film, Delicatessen as it is also a very warm-looking film

Color-grade Comparison

Original Trailer in FrenchAmlie is a story about a young woman with a fantastical imagination, who because of a sheltered childhood, seeks to find the objects of other peoples pasts to re-acquaint them with their child-like sense of joy and wonder in the world.

Awards

Amlie was a film in which Jeunet had set the bar in France; consequently, he would be critiqued heavily for not keeping to his standards especially after the release to AmericansJeunet went on to direct A Very Long Engagement starring Audrey Tautou and Dominique PinonIt received positive reviews, but it fell short of American movie-goers expectations

Jeunet had the complete freedom to work as he wanted on his French productionsIn Hollywood, with Alien: Resurrection, he felt as if that freedom was stolen from himAmerican film is set around pre-establishmentFrench cinma is based on the momentArtistic direction in French cinma is much more lax in this regard

A life in pictures is an interview filmed in 2010 in which Jeunet explains his collaboration with Caro, his feelings on American cinma and Hollywood, and his successes with AmlieA Life in PicturesJeunet is working on an American film The Young and Prodigious Spivet which will feature an American cast including Helena Bonham Carter set to release in late 2013

Link, Adrianna. "The Summer of Super 8: A Look at the Film's Technological Origins." Web log post. The Atlantic. Smithsonian, 16 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.

Aftab, Kaleem. "Magic Moments: Jean-Pierre Jeunet." Web log post. The National. N.p., 15 July 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .

"Jean Pierre Jeunet - Biography." IMDb - Jean Pierre Jeunet. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .

Richards, Evan E. "Deconstructing Amlie." Rev. of Amlie. Web log post. @ Evan E. Richards. N.p., 30 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .